THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


abbor 


of 


T.  NETTIE'S  MISSION. 

"  ©nr  datbrr  fobjrb  art  ttt  ^tabm,  ^allofoto   bt 
tbj)  namr." 

II.  LITTLE  MARGERY. 

"  ®tg  Jiingbam  tomt." 

III.  MARGERY'S   CITY  HOME. 

"  8Dbt>  ffilUI  be  bone  on  (garth  as  it  is  in  |)eabrn." 

IV.  THE  CROSSING-SWEEPER. 

"  (Sibe  ns  tljis  gan  ont  Ipailg  grcab." 


V.  y?6>5F  CC>.V^(9F'5  LESSONS. 

gibc  us  our  Jlcbla  as  fat  forgibc  our  gltbtors." 


VI.  NED  DOLAN'S   GARRET. 

ns  not  into  STrmptation,  but  btlibe»  da  ftam 


Rosy  Conroy. 


Frontis. 


ROSY  GoNEors  LESSONS. 


"Jforgibt  n3  our  Jtbls  as  fee  -iforgtbt  our  gtbtors. 


BT 

JULIA  A.  MATHEWS, 

AUTHOR    OF    THE    "  DKAYTON-HALL    SERIES,"    BTO. 


NEW    YORK: 

ROBERT    CARTER   AND   BROTHERS, 
530   BROADWAY. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1866,  by 

ROBEUT  CARTER  AND  BROTHERS, 

Tn  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


CONTENTS. 


PAQB 

I.  ROSY'S  SCHOOL, 9 

II.  ROSY'S  HOME, 27 

III.  A  USELESS  PLEA,    ...       ...  39 

IV.  REPENTANCE, 49 

V.  A  BITTER  GRIEF, 59 

VI.  ROSY  A  TRADESWOMAN,  ....  71 

VII.  THE  ARMOR  BUCKLED  on,  ....  85 

VIII.  JOE  TURNER'S, 101 

IX.  THE  LOST  BROTHER, 117 

X.  ROSY'S  REWABD, 135 


622759 


I. 


OSY  Conroy  stood  in  the  yard,  lean- 
ing upon  the  pump,  and  looking 
down  thoughtfully  into  the  pail  into 
which  the  water  ran  slowly  from  the  half- 
turned  faucet  that  she  held  in  her  hand.  A 
boy  who  stood  at  the  open  window  of  the 
basement  had  just  called  out  to  her,  in  a 
rough,  loud  voice,  that  she  must  not  splash 
the  stones,  adding  a  rude  threat  to  his  com- 
mand, and  Rosy  was  thinking  sorrowfully 
of  a  little  friend  who  had  lived  in  that 
basement  only  a  few  months  before.  But 


10  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


the  little  friend,  and  the  old  grandfather 
with  whom  she  had  lived,  had  both  gone 
home  to  the  "  Happy  Land,"  and  strangers 
occupied  the  low  room  which  Rosy  had 
once  so  loved  to  visit. 

"  Oh,  I  wish  Margery  was  there  yet,"  she 
said  to  herself  with  a  sigh,  as  she  leaned 
over  her  pail  idly  watching  the  trickling 
stream  of  water. 

"  Rosy,  Rosy,  child  !  "  called  a  voice 
from  the  window  above  her. 

"  Yes,  mother,  I'm  coming,"  cried  Rosy, 
and  turning  on  the  full  force  of  the  water, 
she  filled  her  pail  to  the  brim,  and,  lifting  it 
with  both  hands,  went  toward  the  house, 
splashing  the  water  at  every  step  over  her 
bare  feet  and  ankles. 

"  I'll  be  out  after  you  if  you  don't  stop 
spilling  that  water,"  called  the  boy  from 


ROSY'S  SCHOOL.  11 


the  basement  "  I'm  just  after  cleaning  the 
yard." 

"  The  —  water  —  wont  —  dirty  —  it," 
panted  Rosy,  as  she  struggled  up  the  steps 
with  her  heavy  burden. 

She  had  answered  him  carelessly,  but 
when,  a  moment  after,  she  entered  her 
mother's  room  and  set  the  pail  down  upon 
the  floor,  Mrs.  Conroy  saw  that  her  eyes 
were  full  of  tears. 

"Why,  Rosy,  dear,  what  is  it,  then?" 
she  asked,  tenderly,  drawing  the  child  to 
her  and  wiping  her  flushed  cheek  with  her 
apron. 

"  Nothing,"  said  Rosy,  tremulously, "  only 
that  ugly  boy  in  the  basement  is  so  cross ; 
and  I  want  Margery  back  there." 

"  And  that's  the  sorrow,  is  it  ?  Yes,  yes, 
it's  very  sore  to  see  them  rough  folks  in  the 


12  ROSY   CONROY'S   LESSONS. 


old  room.  But  \ve  mustn't  want  Margery 
back,  dear.  She's  best  off  where  she  is,  no 
doubt,"  and  the  mother  stroked  her  child's 
hair  lovingly. 

"  Now,  Rosy,  it's  time  you  were  off  to 
the  school.  Put  on  your  bit  of  a  hood 
and  run  away." 

So  Rosy  tied  on  the  worsted  hood  which 
her  mother  handed  to  her,  and  snatching  a 
kiss  from  a  tiny  boy  who  sat  playing  on  the 
door,  went  out  again. 

Just  as  she  reached  Broadway,  which 
she  must  cross  in  going  to  school,  she  saw 
by  the  timepiece  in  a  clock-maker's  win- 
dow that  it  was  already  nearly  nine  o'clock, 
and  she  went  on  at  a  quick  pace,  almost 
running,  for  she  had  yet  some  squares  to 
walk. 

"  Take  care,  Rosy,  don't  run  over  me," 


ROSY'S  SCHOOL.  13 


said  a  pleasant  voice ;  and  looking  up  the 
little  girl  saw  her  Sunday-school  teacher. 

"  O  Miss  Raymond ! "  she  exclaimed, 
joyfully,  "  I  never  met  you  in  the  street  be- 
fore, did  I  ?  " 

"  No,  I  think  not  Are  you  going  to 
school  ?  " 

"  Yes,  ma'am,"  said  Rosy,  her  face  chang- 
ing. 

"  What  is  the  matter?  Don't  you  love 
to  go?" 

"  Not  to  this  one,  Miss  Raymond." 

"  What  is  wrong  with  this  one  ?  " 

"  It's  so  noisy ;  and  the  children  wont 
study,  and  there  don't  seem  to  be  anything 
to  learn.  I  wish  I  could  go  to  a  public 
school.  But  it  is  getting  late ;  I  must  go 
on." 

"  I   will    walk    along    with   you,''    said 


14  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


Miss  Raymond.  "  I  want  to  know  about 
this.  How  is  it  that  there  is  nothing  to 
learn?" 

"  I  can't  tell,  Miss  Raymond.  But  if 
you  come  in  with  me,  maybe  you'll  know. 
I  don't" 

"But  if  you  want  to  go  to  a  public 
school,  Rosy,  why  don't  you  go  ?  " 

The  child  glanced  down  at  her  bare 
feet,  and  her  clean,  but  patched  and  faded 
dress. 

"  I  couldn't  be  with  nice  children  when  I 
look  so  bad  as  this,"  she  said.  "  Mother 
wants  me  to  go  too,  but  we're  so  poor  she 
can't  afford  to  keep  me  decent.  My 
brother  Will  wont  work  a  bit  now,  and 
you  know  my  father  is  blind.  He  goes 
about  with  his  dog,  selling  matches  and 
needles  and  such  things,  but  he  gets  very 


Rosy  Conroy. 


p.  14. 


BOSY'S  SCHOOL.  15 


little,  and  mother  can't  go  out  because  of 
the  twins.  They're  only  three  months  old. 
And  then  there's  Bobbie,  he's  two  years 
old ;  and  'Susy,  she's  five.  So,  you  see, 
mother  can't  go  out,  if  I  go  to  school; 
and  even  if  she  could,  she  wouldn't  earn 
enough  to  keep  me  fit  for  a  good  one." 

"  Why  do  you  want  to  go  to  a  better 
school  so  much  ?  " 

"  I  want  to  learn  to  be  a  teacher,"  said 
Rosy,  eagerly.  "  If  I  could,  then  I'd  take 
such  good  care  of  father  and  mother,  and 
I'd  buy  clothes  for  the  children,  and  —  oh, 
I\l  do  everything !  " 

"  Ho  .v  old  are  you,  Rosy  ?  "  asked  the 
lady,  smiling. 

"  Nine,  go:ng  on  ten,  ma'am." 

They  had  by  this  time  reached  Rosy'a 
destination,  and  Miss  Raymond  went  in 


16  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


with  her.  She  did  not  wonder  that  a 
bright,  intelligent  child,  fond  of  study,  and 
anxious  to  learn  as  much  as  possible,  should 
long  for  somethirg  different  from  this,  it 
was  already  past  nine  o'clock,  but  the  chil- 
dren were  running  and  playing  about  the 
room  while  the  teacher  stood  at  her  desk, 
faintly  commanding  silence  in  a  voice 
which  could  not  be  heard  at  a  distance  of 
six  feet,  in  the  din  and  clamor  which  might 
almost  have  drowned  a  shout. 

"  It  is  not  always  like  this,  Rosy,  is 
it?"  asked  Miss  Raymond. 

"  No,  ma'am ;  they  will  sit  down 
pretty  soon,  I  guess.  But  they  will  talk 
all  day  long.  I  don't  know  what  ails 
Miss  Macy,  but  she  can't  seem  to  keep 
them  quiet." 

Misa   Raymond  could  see  at  a   glance, 


HOST'S  SCHOOL.  17 


what  ailed  her.  She  might  have  been 
a  good  teacher  of  a  well-ordered  private 
class  of  pupils,  but  she  was  a  weak, 
inefficient  woman,  wholly  inadequate  to 
control  the  turbulent  young  spirits  con- 
gregated in  the  industrial  school  over 
which  she  had  been  placed. 

"  And  you  don't  like  all  this,"  said 
Miss  Raymond,  looking  down  at  the 
child,  who  still  stood  beside  her. 

"  No,  ma'am.  I  like  fun  as  well  as 
any  of  them ;  but  it  is  not  right  to 
carry  on  so  here.  It's  real  mean  to 
Miss  Macy  too.  I  think  it  kind  of 
frightens  her,  poor  thing." 

That  decided  Miss  Raymond.  She 
determined  that  if  it  were  possible  Rosy 
should  have  a  teacher  whom  she  should 
2 


10  ROSY   CONROY'S   LESSONS. 


respect  too  much  to  call  her  "  pocr 
thing." 

"  Can  you  come  to  see  me  this  af- 
ternoon, Rosy  ?  " 

"  Oh,    yes,    ma'am,   I    think    so,"   said 
/ 

the  child,  her  eyes  dancing  with  delight. 
I'll  ask  my  mother." 

"  Very  well.  Come,  if  she  can  spare 
you,  and  we  will  have  a  talk  about 
your  lessons;"  and,  after  a  few  minutes 
conversation  with  the  unhappy  teacher, 
the  lady  took  her  leave. 

The  walk  to  Miss  Raymond's  house 
that  afternoon  was  very  cold,  but  Rosy 
drew  her  thin  shawl  closely  around  her 
shoulders  and  trotted  on  merrily.  What 
mattered  it  if  it  were  bleak  ?  Was  she 
not  going  to  hear  something  about  a 
new  school  where  she  might,  perhaps, 


ROSY'S  SCHOOL.  19 


learn  to  be  a  teacher?  Cold  as  she 
was,  her  heart  was  warm  and  glowing, 
and  she  ran  on  joyously  in  spite  of  the 
piercing  wind,  and  the  icy  feeling  of 
the  pavement  against  her  feet.  By  and 
by  she  reached  the  house,  and  rang 
the  bell  timidly. 

"  Please,  sir,  Td  like  to  see  Miss 
Raymond,"  she  said  to  the  man  who 
opened  the  door.  "  May  I  go  up  to 
her  floor  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  her,"  said  the  man  with 
an  amused  look.  "  What  is  your  name  ?  " 

"Rosy,   sir." 

He  led  her  across  the  hall,  and,  point- 
ing to  a  small  iron  grating  in^the  floor, 
said,  "  You  may  sit  down  by  the  reg- 
ister, and  warm  yourself;  but  don't  put 
your  foot  on  the  iron, — it  is  hot" 


20  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


To  Rosy's  great  surprise  a  soft,  warm 
air  was  coming  up  through  this  hole  in 
the  floor.  She  held  her  feet  over  it,  and 
by  and  by  a  drowsy  feeling  began  to 
steal  over  her ;  the  heated  air  was  mak- 
ing her  sleepy  after  her  long  walk;  and 
when  the  waiter  returned,  having  been 
detained  to  receive  a  messenger,  he 
found  her  fast  asleep. 

"  I  didn't  say  anything  to  her,  Miss 
Lily,"  he  said  to  Miss  Raymond,  when 
she  came  clown  five  minutes  later. 
"  She's  taking  such  pure  comfort  there." 

Rosy's  head  h;id  fallen  back'  against 
the  chair,  and  her  hood  had  slipped  off 
leaving  her  flashed  face  fully  exposed. 
She  made  a  very  pretty  picture  sitting 
there  in  the  high-backed  chair  with  her 
hands  folded  in  her  hip  and  her  bare 
fee!  hvin^i::-;  over  the  register. 


HOST'S   SCHOOL.  21 


"  Poor  little  child,  her  walk  has  tired 
her  out." 

The  sound  of  voices  wakened  Rosy, 
and  she  sprang  up,  suddenly. 

"  Don't  be  frightened,"  said  Miss  Ray- 
mond, seeing  that  she  was  startled. 
"  You  fell  asleep  over  the  fire,  that  i:3 
all." 

"  Wont  the  gentleman  be  angered 
at  me  falling  asleep  by  his  stove  ? " 
said  Rosy,  anxiously.  "  He  told  me  to 
wait  here  while  he  went  to  call  you. 
Aint  he  got  a  queer  little  stove,  Miss 
Raymond?" 

"  That  is  a   register,    Rosy." 

"  Is  it  ?  I've  seen  such  holes  in  the 
street,  by  the  big  hotels  sometimes,  but 
such  a  lot  of  fire  comes  out  of  this, 
don't  it?  It's  real  nice.  That's  a  good 
gentleman.  Does  he  live  on  this  floor?" 


22  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  No.  This  is  my  father's  house,  and 
he  wants  it  all  for  his  own  family." 

"  He  must  be  heaping  rich,"  said 
Rosy,  after  a  moment  of  surprised  si- 
lence. 

"  Shall  I  tell  you  what  he  means  to 
do  with  a  part  of  his  riches,"  asked 
Miss  Raymond  with  a  smile. 

"  Yes,   ma'am,"  said  Rosy,  softly. 

"  He  means  to  buy  a  dress  and  a 
shawl  and  a  pair  of  shoes  for  a  little 
girl  who  wants  to  go  to  a  public 
school,  and  cannot  because  she  has  not 
fitting  clothes." 

"  Not  for  me,  Miss  Raymond,"  said 
Rosy,  "it  can't  be." 

"  But  it  can  be.  If  your  mother  is 
willing  that  you  should  go,  my  father 
will  obtain  a  place  for  you,  if  you  will 


KOSY'S  SCHOOL.  23 


promise  to  study  hard,  and  to  behave 
well." 

"  Oh,  I'll  be  just  as  good,  and  I'll 
study  ever  so !  What  shall  I  say  ?  It 
aint  half  enough  to  say  thank  you,  is 
it?  I'll  always  love  you  just  as  dear  as 
dear  can  be ; "  and  the  eager,  happy 
face  pressed  close  to  Miss  Raymond 
in  the  child's  delighted  excitement. 

She  took  it  between  her  hands,  as 
she  said,  "  What  put  it  into  your  head 
to  want  to  be  a  teacher  ? " 

"  I  don't  know ;  but  I  always  did 
want  it.  Margery  Bray  used  to  laugh, 
and  say  I  was  too  romping  and  care- 
less to  be  a  teacher ;  but  I  mean  to 
be  one  some  of  these  days,  and  I  used 
to  tell  her  she'd  see.  Oh,  I  wish  she 
was  here  now!  I  used  to  love  to  have 


24  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


her  with  me  in  Sunday  school,  and 
everywhere." 

"  Don't  wish  that,  Rosy.  She  is  so 
happy  in  heaven.  She  cannot  come  to 
us,  but  we  can  go  to  her.  Are  you 
trying  to  follow  Margery's  Master  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Miss  Raymond,  I  do  try.  I've 
tried  ever  since  she  died.  I  think  it 
was  her  made  me  love  Him.  When 
I  was  wilh  her,  it  always  seemed  as 
if  she  was  happier  than  me,  and  I 
wanted  to  be  like  her.  I  do  love  the 
dear  Lord  Jesus  now." 

"  How  much  do  you  love  him,  Rosy  ? 
Would  you  be  ready  to  give  up  everything 
for  his  sake  ?  " 

"•  Yes,  I  think  so,"  said  Rosy,  thought- 
fully. 

« I   hope   you   would,  dear.     Now   you 


HOST'S  SCHOOL.  25 


had  better  go  home  again,  and  I  will  come 
down  and  talk  to  your  mother  about  the 
new  school.  Here  are  some  little  cakes 
for  you  and  the  other  children." 

Rosy  took  the  offered  bundle  with  many 
thanks,  and  ran  off  with  a  light  heart  to 
tell  her  happiness  to  her  mother. 


II 


jEVER  was  there  a  brighter  face  than 
that  which  Rosy  wore  as  she  ran 
toward  home  on  this  cold  November 
afternoon.  It  was  sundown  before  she 
left  Miss  Raymond's  house,  and  the  sun, 
who  had  hidden  himself  behind  dark  gray 
clouds  all  the  afternoon,  concluded  to  take 
one  little  peep  at  the  earth  before  he  went 
to  rest.  So  he  broke  through  the  thick 
curtains  which  shrouded  his  light  and 
shone  out  radiantly  for  a  few  moments. 

The  little  girl  looked  up  gladly  to  wel- 
come  the  sweet  sunset  light,  and  her  face 
seemed  to  catch  the  soft  glow  which  fell  all 

(27) 


28  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


around  her.  It  hid  itself  among  her  curls, 
and  kindled  a  new  beauty  in  her  sparkling 
eyes ;  and,  shining  upon  her  round  cheeks, 
laid  there  lovingly,  as  if  it  could  not  bear  to 
leave  anything  so  fair  and  soft.  And  the 
child  danced  on  blithely,  singing  as  she 
went,  and  weary  men  and  toil-worn  women 
turned  and  looked  after  her,  thanking  God 

for  the  sight. 

0 
She  reached  her  home  just  in  time  to 

catch  up  little  Bob,  who  had  toddled  to 
the  door-sill,  and  stepping  over  it  on  his 
unsteady  feet,  had  fallen  and  bumped  his 
forehead  on  the  boards. 

"  There,  there,  never  mind,"  said  Rosy, 
lifting  him  in  her  arms,  "  never  mind." 

And  being  so  often  told  to  "  never 
mind,"  Robbie  concluded  to  obey,  and, 
ceasing  to  scream,  wound  his  chubby  arms 


ROSY'S  IIOME.  29 


around  her  neck,  and  put  up  his  lips  for  a 
kiss.  But  the  noise  had  awakened  the 
twins,  and  a  chorus  of  cries  arose  from  the 
cradle  in  which  they  lay,  their  mother  hav- 
ing gone  out  on  an  errand  to  the  store, 
while  they  were  sleeping.  Rosy  carried 
the  two-year-old  baby  over  to  the  cradle, 
and  sitting  down  beside  it  tried  to  quiet 
the  three-months-old  babies  by  rocking 
them.  But  it  was  of  no  use.  The  two 
tiny  faces  rubbed  themselves  fretfully  over 
the  pillows,  the  four  aimless  fists  struck 
out  blindly  at  imaginary  foes,  and  the  two 
little  bodies  rolled  around  and  doubled 
themselves  up  in  angry  impatience.  The 
harder  Rosy  rocked,  the  louder  the  ba- 
bies screamed,  until,  in  despair,  she  put 
Rob  down  upon  the  floor,  and  taking  a 
baby  on  each  knee,  trotted  them  up  and 
down  with  all  her  might. 


30  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


But  Rob  did  not  approve  of  this  position 
of  affairs.  He  considered  Rosy's  lap  his 
especial  property,  and,  resenting  his  de- 
thronement, he  seized  each  baby  by  the 
frock,  and,  dragging  upon  them  with  his 
whole  strength,  cried  out,  "  Down,  bad 
baby,  down ! " 

"  Don't  do  so,  Rob  ! "  exclaimed  Rosy, 
hardly  able  to  hold  the  children  back. 
"  You  don't  want  to  sit  on  Rosy's  lap. 
You're  a  man." 

Robbie  had  released  his  grasp  at  her 
loud  exclamation,  and  now  standing  be- 
fore her  with  his  hands  clasped  behind 
his  back,  he  tried  to  look  defiance.  But  it 
would  not  do.  He  could  not  bear  to  see 
those  new  babies  usurping  his  place ;  his 
lip  began  to  quiver,  two  big  tears  rolled 
slowly  down  his  face,  and  angrily  sobbing 


EOSY'S  HOME.  31 


out,  "  Aint  a  man,  aint  a  man  a  bit,"  the 
little  fellow  flung  himself  upon  the  floor, 
crying  bitterly. 

Rosy  could  not  stand  that.  Rob  had 
always  been  her  special  pet,  and  it  almost 
broke  her  heart  to  see  how  grieved  he  was. 
Down  went  the  three-months-olds  into  the 
cradle  again,  and  Rosy  threw  herself  down 
beside  him. 

"No,  you  aint  a  man.  There  now, 
come  to  your  own  nurse,  little  boy.  You're 
nothing  but  my  own  baby." 

But  Robbie  considered  himself  aggrieved, 
and  would  not  relent  at  first.  Finally, 
however,  her  coaxing,  aided  by  one  of  Miss 
Raymond's  cakes,  prevailed ;  and  when 
Mrs.  Conroy  returned,  she  found  Rosy 
seated  on  the  floor  with  Rob  on  her  lap, 
while  the  twins  lay  in  the  cradle  content- 
edly sacking  their  fists. 


32  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  O  mother,"  cried  Rosy,  springing  up 
to  meet  her,  "  Miss  Raymond  is  going  to 
send  me  to  a  public  school,  and  she  is  going 
to  give  me  shoes  and  clothes,  and  she  is 
coming  to  see  you  to-morrow  to  tell  you 
all  about  it!  "  and  she  danced  about  in 
her  delight,  until  Rob  shouted  with  glee. 

"  What  do  you  mean,  at  all,  at  all,  Rosy? 
Stand  quiet,  and  tell  me  what  it  is.  Is  it 
to  the  Ward-school  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  Miss  Raymond  will  see  to 
my  clothes,  and  I'll  learn  to  be  a  teacher, 
and  I'll  take  care  of  you  and  father  and 
the  twins  and  Rob." 

"  Softly,  then,  softly,"  said  her  mother, 
laughing  at  her  excitement.  "  Miss  Ray- 
mond's a  fine  lady,  so  she  is,  and  it's 
right  thankful  I  am  to  her.  But  you'll 
have  to  stick  close  to  your  books  then, 
Rosy." 


ROSY'S  HOME.  33 


"  Yes,  I  know,  but  I  can  study  real  hard, 
mother.  Oh,  wont  we  have  a  gay  time 
when  I'm  a  teacher,  Robbie  ?  " 

It  had  been  the  dream  of  the  child's  life 
to  become  a  teacher,  that  she  might  help 
her  blind  father,  and  careworn  mother ;  and 
this  new  hope,  that  her  great  desire  was  to 
be  granted,  filled  her  heart  with  joy. 

"  Isn't  father  late  to-night,"  she  said, 
after  a  short  silence.  She  wanted  to  tell 
him  of  this  great  delight 

"  He  is  that,  and  Frn  getting  a  bit  wor- 
rited for  him.  Run  you  down  the  alley, 
Rosy,  and  see  is  he  coming." 

Rosy  went  out,  but  before  she  reached 
the  entrance  to  the  alley,  she  heard  hei 
father's  cautious,  slow  step. 

"  Is  that  you,  father  ?  "  she  said,  for  it 
was  too  dark  to  see  him. 

3 


34  ROSY   CONROY'S   LESSONS. 


"  It's  raeself,"  said  he. 

"  What's  kept  you  so  late  ?  "  asked  the 
child,  taking  the  cord  by  which  he  helcj 
his  dog,  out  of  his  hand,  and  leading  him 
herself  on  through  the  darkness. 

"  'Twas  the  dog.  He's  sick,  I'm  think- 
in',  for  he  acts  very  queer.  A  good  part 
of  the  forenoon  he  wouldn't  walk  at  all, 
and  I  thought  he'd  scarce  get  me  home, 
he  seemed  that  weak  in  the  legs." 

"  Why,  Spot,  are  you  sick,  old  fellow  ?  " 
said  Rosy,  turning  back  to  look  at  him. 
"  Poor  Spot." 

The  dog,  who  was  walking  slowly 
along  behind  them,  wagged  his  tail  in 
answer  to  her  voice,  and  then  lay  down 
wearily  upon  the  stones. 

"  Come,  Spot.  Come  get  your  supper, 
old  dog,"  said  Rosy  ;  but  he  did  not 
move. 


HOST'S  HOME.  85 


So  after  she  had  guided  her  father  into 
the  house,  she  went  back.  But  roaxing 
und  petting  were  all  in  vain.  There  he 
lay ;  he  had  brought  his  master  safely 
home,  and  now  that  his  work  was  done 
his  strength  had  utterly  failed.  The  tears 
sprang  into  Rosy's  eyes  as  she  looked 
pityingly  at  him  while  he  lay  panting  for 
breath.  He  was  a  rough,  coarse-looking 
dog,  but  he  carried  a  faithful  heart  under 
his  coat  of  stiff  yellow  hair,  and  she  loved 
him  dearly.  She  could  not  bear  to  leave 
him  on  the  cold  stones,  and  putting  her 
arms  around  him  she  exerted  all  her 
strength,  and,  lifting  him  as  best  she 
could,  staggered  up  the  steps  and  bore 
him  safely  into  the  house. 

"  There,  dear  Spot,"  she  said,  "  lie  down 
by  the  stove  and  gel  warm." 


36  K03Y   CONKOY'S    LE330NS. 


And  little  Rob  crept  up  to  where  he 
lay  to  pat  his  head  and  fondle  him  ten- 
derly. 

"  Did  you  sell  anything  the  day,  Pat- 
rick ? "  asked  the  mother,  as  they  sat 
around  the  table  eating  their  supper  of 
bread,  with  tea  for  the  father  and  mother, 
and  molasses  for  the  children. 

"  No,"  said  the  man,  sadly.  "  Nothing 
but  a  box  of  matches.  It's  been  a  sore 
day  for  me.  So  cold  and  bleak,  and  the 
dog  ailing;  me  selling  never  a  ha'porth 
but  the  bit  of  a  box,  and  the  rent  so  near 
due." 

The  mother  sighed,  and  Rosy  thought 
again  of  that  good  time  coming  when  the 
rent  should  no  longer  be  a  burden  to  her 
blind  father,  when  she  should  be  the  one  to 
bear  all  the  burdens,  and  to  care  for  and 


ROSY'S  HOME.  37 


help  them  all.  She  had  told  him  of  her 
happiness,  but  he  had  been  so  worried  and 
distressed  by  his  unsuccessful  day's  work 
that  he  had  not  paid  any  heed  to  her 
story. 

After  supper  she  put  the  little  ones  to 
bed,  while  her  mother  rocked  the  babies, 
one  in  the  cradle,  the  other  on  her  knee ; 
and  then  she  crept  in  beside  Rob,  and, 
wrapping  her  arms  around  him,  asked  God 
to  help  her  to  study  hard,  and  to  make  her 
able  to  help  her  father  and  mother. 

Outside,  in  the  front  room,  Patrick  Con- 
roy  and  his  wife  sat  together  talking  hope- 
lessly of  the  dark  future ;  of  their  eldest 
boy,  "Will,  who  idled  about  day  after  day, 
refusing  to  work,  and  coming  home  only 
to  eat  and  sleep  ;  of  the  great  loss  which 
they  should  suffer  if  their  sick  dog  should 


38  ROSY   CONROY'S   LESSONS. 


die  ;  of  the  coming  winter  which  promised 
to  be  so  severe,  and  of  all  the  hundred 
cares  and  troubles  which  beset  a  poor  man 
with  a  family  of  young  children  ;  while 
within  lay  the  child,  her  heart  in  a  fluttei 
of  joy  and  happiness,  looking  forward  to 
that  same  future  which  to  her  imagina- 
tion seemed  so  bright  and  joyous. 


III. 

$Ita. 

OSY  had  been  sound  asleep,  dream- 
ing  of  her  new  school,  when  she 
was  suddenly  wakened  by  a  sharp 
cry.  She  started  up  hastily,  thinking  at 
first  that  Robbie  had  called  out;  but  the 
little  fellow  lay  quietly  beside  her.  As 
she  raised  her  head  to  listen,  she  heard  a 
low,  moaning  sound  coming  from  the  outer 
room,  and,  softly  creeping  from  her  bed,  she 
went  to  see  what  was  the  matter.  Her 
heart  was  beating  very  fast,  for  in  her 
pleasant  dreams  she  had  forgotten  Spot, 
and  she  feared  that  the  cry  of  pain  had 
come  from  her  father  or  mother.  But 

(39) 


40  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


when  she  glided  softly  through  the  door 
of  the  closet  in  which  she  slept,  she 
found  only  the  dog  awake  in  the  larger 
room.  Her  parents  were  sleeping  heavily 
after  their  day's  work,  while  Will  lay 
curled  up  in  a  corner  in  a  sound  slum- 
ber. 

But  there  was  one  pair  of  eyes  which 
greeted  her  as  she  stole  across  the  floor, 
and  poor  Spot's  tail  wagged  feebly  as  she 
approached  him.  He  lay  stretched  out  be- 
fore the  stove,  with  his  head  thrown  back, 
moaning  piteously. 

"  Poor  dog,"  said  Rosy,  sitting  down 
upon  the  floor  beside  him.  "  Dear  old 
Spot." 

He  looked  up  wistfully  into  her  face, 
and,  as  she  sat  and  stroked  his  head,  his 
moans  ceased,  and  at  last  he  grew  so 


A   USELESS   PLEA.  41 


quiet  that  Rosy  crept  back  to  her  bed 
once  more.  But  she  no  longer  dreamed 
happy  dreams.  Spot's  groans  and  cries 
were  woven  into  all  her  thoughts ;  and 
she  was  tossing  restlessly,  muttering  and 
sobbing  when  her  moiher  came  to  wake 
her  in  the  morning. 

"  What  is  it,  Rosy  ?  "  said  Mrs.  Conroy, 
putting  back  the  tumbled  hair  from  the 
child's  face.  "What  makes  you  fret?" 

"  I  don't  know,  only  I  had  bad  dreams. 
T  thought  Spot  was  dead." 

"  No,  he's  not  dead,  but  he's  far  gone 
with  the  wakeness.  You  can  hear  the 
laments  of  him  all  over  the  house,  he 
cries  that  sore.  Come,  get  you  dressed 
and  run  in  to  Mrs.  O'Brien's.  She's  very 
knowledgeable  on  dogs,  and  maybe  she 
can  tell  me  what  Fd  best  do  for  him 


42  ROSY    CONROVS   LLSSOKS. 


Hist,  Rosy,  be  quiet  like,  or  you'll  waken 
the  boy." 

Robbie's  hands  had  grasped  her  sleeve. 
Half-awakened  by  their  voices,  he  had 
roused  himself  enough  to  say,  "  Stay  to 
Robbie,"  and  then  sunk  back  into  sleep, 
but  holding  her  fast  the  while.  Mrs. 
Conroy  gently  unclasped  the  tiny  fingers, 
and  Rosy  proceeded  to  make  herself  ready 
to  go  for  Mrs.  O'Brien.  When  she  came 
out  into  the  front  room  she  found  her 
mother  bending  anxiously  over  the  dog. 

"  I'm  thinking  you'll  have  to  go  out 
with  the  father  the  day,  Rosy,"  said  she. 

"  O  mother !  Miss  Raymond  is  coming 
to-day ! " 

"  Ah,  child,  I'm  afeared  she'll  come  for 
nought  If  the  dog  dies,  as  I  fear  me  he 
will,  for  he's  took  very  bad,  you'll  have  to 
lead  the  father." 


A   USELESS   PLEA.  43 


Rosy  stood  still  in  silent  dismay.  If 
she  must  take  her  father  out  on  hi's  daily 
rounds,  all  her  dearly-cherished  plans  and 
hopes  must  be  given  up.  It  seemed  too 
hard  a  thing  to  think  of. 

"  O,  Mother/'  she  said,  "  I  must  go  to 
school,  else  Til  never  learn  to  be  a  teacher. 
Don't  make  me  go  with  father,"  and 
her  eyes,  brimming  with  tears,  were  lifted 
pleadingly  to  her  mother's  face. 

"  And  would  I  ask  it  from  you  if  I 
could  help  it,  Rosy  ?  Sure  and  it's  been 
the  hope  of  me  life  that  you  should  get 
larnin',  but  what'll  we  do  if  the  father 
don't  sell  nothing?  And  how  can  he  go 
his  lone  ?  " 

"But   Will   might  take   him,   mother." 

"  If  he  would,  he  might ;  but  he's  that 
contrairy  and  that  set  in  his  ways  that 


44  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


I'm  afeared  he'll  not  go  for  our  asking. 
But  ii  you  like  you  could  try,  Rosy 
dear." 

All  the  while  that  she  was  setting 
the  table  for  breakfast,  dressing  the  two 
smaller  children  and  tending  the  babies, 
while  her  mother  cut  the  bread  and  made 
the  tea,  Rosy  was  trying  to  make  up 
her  mind  as  to  the  most  successful  way 
of  coaxing  Will.  He  had  been  an  un- 
kind, cross  brother  to  her,  and  she  was 
somewhat  afraid  of  him ;  but  it  was  such 
a  hard  trial  to  give  up  the  new  hope 
which  had  arisen  in  her  heart  that  she 
was  willing  to  brave  the  chance  of  a 
sharp  refusal.  She  could  not  decide  on 
the  way  to  approach  the  subject,  and 
breakfast  was  over  before  she  had  sum- 
moned courage  to  speak  to  him.  He  was 


A   USELESS   PLEA.  45 


leaving  the  room,  when,  feeling  that  this 
was   her    last   chance,    she     stopped   him. 

"  Will,  can't  you  go  out  with  father, 
to-day  1 " 

"Go  out  with  him?  What,  pilot  him 
about  the  street  with  his  basket  of  traps  ? 
T  guess  I  wont.  Go  with  him  yourself." 

"But,  Will,  I  can't  go  every  day.  If 
Spot  dies  somebody  must  go  with  father 
always;  and  if  you  wont,  I'll  have  to  give 
up  my  school." 

"  Who  cares  if  you  do !  School  aint 
no  good." 

"Yes,  it  is.  And  Miss  Raymond  is 
going  to  take  me  to  a  public  school, 
where  I  can  learn  to  be  a  teacher ;  and 
O  Will,  I  can't  bear  to  give  it  up-  Do 
please  go." 

She    had    crept  up  very  close   to   him 


46  KOSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


her  flushed  cheeks  and  quivering  lips 
adding  their  entreaty  to  her  words;  but 
the  boy's  heart  was  very  hard,  and  when 
she  laid  an  eager  hand  upon  his  coat- 
sleeve  in  her  earnestness,  he  flung  it  off, 
saying  roughly,  "Don't  give  it  up  then. 
Let  him  get  along  the  best  way  he 
can.  I  aint  going  about  the  streets  play- 
ing dog  to  a  blind  man." 

It  was  a  hopeless  case,  and  poor  Rosy 
felt  it  so. 

"Oh,  you  bad,  bad  boy!"  she  cried 
out  passionately,  and  as  she  spoke,  she 
struck  him  on  the  arm. 

He  started  forward  to  return  the  blow, 
and  Rosy  might  have  suffered  a  severe 
punishment  for  her  fault  if  her  mother 
had  not  stepped  between  her  and  his 
angry  hand. 


A   USELESS   PLEA.  47 


"  Don't  lift  ft  finger  to  her,"  said  Mrs. 
Conroy,  pushing  Will  aside  hastily. 
"  She  says  true,  you  are  a  bad  boy,  and 
a  shame  to  the  mother  what  reared  you, 
to  speak  in  such  fashion  of  your  own 
father  because  the  Lord's  afflicted  him. 
Go  you  out  this  minute,  and  don't  you 
dare  to  raise  your  hand  to  Rosy." 

With  a  hard  laugh  the  boy  turned 
away,  while  his  mother  tried  to  soothe 
and  comfort  the  sobbing  child. 

The  father  had  been  out  during  this 
scene,  and  now,  hearing  his  returning  step, 
Rosy  lifted  her  face  from  her  mother's 
breast  and  tried  to  choke  back  her  tears. 

"  There,  then,  darlin',"  said  Mrs.  Conroy, 
cheerily.  "  Don't  fret  no  more.  May 
be  Spot'll  be  a  deal  easier  the  night 
\vhen  you  come  home.  Keep  up  a  good 
heart,  Rosy." 


TV. 


OME,  little  woman,"  said  her  father, 
as  he  entered  the  room,  "it  is  high 
time  we   were  off.     You  must  take 
care  of  the  blind-man  to-day." 

If  there  were  in  the  child's  heart  any 
lingering  reluctance  to  yield  her  own 
will,  her  father's  allusion  to  himself  as 
"  the  blind-man "  scattered  it  at  once. 
She  sprang  up  quickly,  and  flipping  her 
hand  into  his,  said,  "  I'm  ready,  father. 
I'll  be  a  first-rate  leader  for  you." 

So  they  went  out  together ;  the  father, 
with  his  basket  filled  with  papers  of  pins, 
corJ,  e!c.,  hanging  on  his  arm,  holding  by 


ri)  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSORS. 

the  hand  his  little  child,  whose  bright  eyes 
were  to  be  a  light  in  his  darkness  through 
all  the  weary  march  of  the  long  day. 

But  although  Rosy  went  with  a  willing 
heart  to  her  task,  she  was  very  quiet 
and  subdued,  walking  by  his  side  as 
gravely  as  a  woman.  Once  before,  she 
had  led  him  out  on  his  daily  round,  but 
then  she  had  skipped  along  laughing  and 
talking  merrily,  or  singing  snatches  of 
sweet  songs  and  hymns,  until  her  joyous- 
ness  had  so  infected  him  that  his  day's 
labor  seemed  only  a  pastime.  But  to-day 
she  was  very  still,  scarcely  speaking  except 
when  he  addressed  her.  He  did  not  wonder 
at  that  however,  for  his  own  heart  was 
sad  as  he  thought  of  his  faithful  guide  and 
companion,  lying  before  the  stove  at 
homo,  probably  dying,  and  he  knew  that 
loved  the  old  dog  dearly. 


REPENTANCE.  51 


But  while  Rosy  thought  sorrowfully  of 
Spot,  there  was  another  sore  trouble  weigh- 
ing upon  her  mind,  and  making  her 
usually  bright  face  so  solemn.  If  the 
pain  which  she  felt  had  been  only  in 
her  heart,  she  might  have  forgotten  her 
own  grief  in  that  of  her  father,  and 
have  tried  to  cheer  and  comfort  him ; 
but  she  had  something  worse  to  bear. 
Her  conscience  was  hard  at  work.  The 
angry  words  which  she  had  spoken  to 
Will,  the  blow  which  she  had  given  him, 
rested  heavily  upon  it,  and  it  could  not 
rest.  In  vain  she  told  herself  that  Will 
was  a  cruel,  unkind  boy,  and  that  it  was 
very  wicked  for  hira  to  speak  as  he 
had  done  of  his  blind  father.  That  was 
all  true  ;  but  she  felt  that  it  made  her 
sin  none  the  less.  She  had  no  right  to 


52  ROSY   CONROY'S   LESSONS. 


sfrike  him  because  he  was  wicked;  and 
she  knew  full  well,  hard  as  she  tried  to 
excuse  herself,  that  it  was  passion,  and 
nothing  else,  which  had  led  her  to  speak 
and  act  as  she  had  done. 

And  then  another  thought  came  up  to 
add  to  her  sorrow.  She  had  been  very 
much  in  earnest  when  she  told  Miss 
Raymond  that  she  was  trying  to  be  a 
Christian.  She  had  tried  faithfully  to 
follow  the  dear  Saviour  whom  she  truly 
loved,  and  she  had  begun  to  hope  that 
she  might  yet  lead  Will  to  him.  Dis- 
obedient as  he  was  to  his  parents,  roughly 
as  he  often  spoke  to  the  younger  children, 
he  had  certainly  been  somewhat  more 
gentle  with  her  of  late,  and  she  had 
thought  that  if  she  bore  patiently  with 
his  faults  she  might,  by  God's  help,  in- 


REPENTANCE.  53 


duce  him  to  live  a  better  life.  She  had 
made  a  great  effort;  many  and  many  a 
time,  she  had  resolutely  kept  back  the 
sharp  retort  which  rose  to  her  lips,  and 
struggled  against  the  anger  which  his 
conduct  roused  within  her ;  she  had 
fought  hard,  and  she  had  hoped  that  the 
victory  was  no',  far  off.  But  now,  all 
was  lost.  After  all  her  self-restraint  and 
patience,  she  had  quarrelled  with  him,  and 
had  even  struck  the  first  blow.  She 
knew  that  the  very  fact  of  her  long  for- 
bearance only  made  this  outbreak  stand 
out  in  bolder  contrast,  and  she  felt  sure 
that  any  new  effort  she  might  make  to 
win  Mm  to  a  Christian  life,  would  be 
met  by  some  allusion  to  her  own  mis- 
conduct ;  for  Will  knew  that  Rosy  had 
chosen  the  Saviour  for  her  Master  and 


54  ROSY   CONROY'S    LESSONS. 


was  trying  to  follow  him.  The  little 
heart  grew  more  troubled,  and  the  young 
face  more  grave,  as  she  walked  on,  think- 
ing of  all  this. 

By  and  by  her  restless  conscience  set 
a  new  thought  before  her,  with  very  dis- 
agreeable vividness.  She  felt  that  she 
ought  to  ask  her  brother's  pardon.  That 
was  a  hard  thing  to  do.  He  had  been 
so  unkind ;  it  was  his  fault  that  the  quarrel 
had  arisen;  it  seemed  as  if  she  could  not 
do  it.  No ;  she  would  be  gentle  and 
pleasant  when  she  saw  him  again,  but 
she  would  not  ask  his  forgiveness.  But 
conscience  is  a  severe  taskmaster  when 
it  has  a  certain  work  to  do  in  a  ten- 
der heart ;  and  Rosy's  would  not  content 
itself  with  such  a  half-way  measure  as 
that,  and  it  stung  her  so  sharply  that  it 


REPENTANCE. 


brought  the  tears  to  her  eyes,  and  made  her 
lip  quiver  with  distress.  Her  pride  would 
not  let  her  yield  even  while  she  knew  that 
she  could  not  be  at  peace  until  she  did  so. 

It  was  a  hard-fought  battle,  and  lasted 
through  all  the  morning,  but  finally  poor 
Rosy's  pride  was  vanquished,  and  with  an 
earnest  but  silent  prayer  for  strength,  she 
resolved  to  do  even  this  for  her  master. 

Her  mind  once  made  up,  her  heart  grew 
lighter.  She  had  been  so  engrossed  with 
her  own  painful  thoughts,  that  she  had 
scarcely  noticed  her  father.  She  had  led 
him  to  the  different  places  to  which  he  di- 
rected her,  and  stood  beside  him  while  he 
offered  his  wares  for  sale  ;  but  she  had  paid 
no  attention  to  what  passed  around  her, 
farther  than  that.  Now,  as  she  looked  up 
at  him,  she  saw  that  his  face  was  very  sad, 


56  ROSY   CONROYS   LESSONS. 


and  noticed  that  his  step  was  slow  and 
weary. 

"  How  much  have  you  sold,  father  ?  "  she 
asked  him. 

"  Only  eight  cents'  worth,  all  this  long 
day." 

Rosy  started.  She  knew  that  when  they 
left  home  a  small  half-loaf  of  bread  was  all 
the  food  that  remained  in  the  house.  That 
must  have  been  eaten  by  this  time,  and 
they  had  not  yet  made  enough  to  buy 
another  loaf. 

"  Oh,  we  must  get  ten  cents,  at  least," 
she  said ;  and  taking  some  cards  of  hooks 
and  eyes  from  the  basket,  she  held  them 
out  to  the  passers-by,  begging  them  to  pur- 
chase something  of  her. 

Pressing  forward  hi  her  eagerness  to  gain 
enough  to  feed  the  hungry  children  at  home, 


REPENTANCE.  57 


she  left  her  father  standing  on  the  comer, 
and  turned  into  the  next  street. 

"  Please,  sir,  buy  some  cards,"  she  said 
to  a  gentleman  who  passed  her. 

He  put  a  penny  into  her  hand,  and  went 
on. 

Another  and  another  hurried  on  unheed- 
ing, and  Rosy  was  on  the  point  of  turning 
back  in  despair,  when  a  lady  approached. 
Many  had  passed  as  she  stood  there,  but 
something  in  the  look  of  this  new-comer 
gave  the  child  confidence. 

"Please,  ma'am,"  she  said,  drawing  near- 
er to  her. 

"  I  have  nothing  for  you,"  said  the  lady. 

"  I  don't  want  to  beg,  ma'am,"  said  Rosy, 
keeping  close  by  her  side ;  "  but  I  do  want 
to  sell  these  cards  so  very  bad." 

"  Oh,  that  is  it,  is  it  ?  Well,  give  me 
one." 


58  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  Four  cents  they  are,  ma'am." 
The  lady  handed  her  ten  cents. 
"  Could  you  wait  one  minute  while  I  run 
to  my  father  for  the  change  ?     He  is  stand- 
ing on  the  next   corner." 

"  No,  never  mind.      You  may  keep  it." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,  ma'am.     It'll   buy  us 

bread  for   supper,"  and  Rosy  ran  back  to 

her   father   with  the   load  lifted  from    her 

heart. 

It  was  nearly  dusk,  and  they  had  a  long 
walk  before  them  ;  so  they  turned  toward 
home,  offering  their  little  articles  to  all 
whom  they  met  on  their  way  ;  but  no  one 
bought.  The  eighteen  cents  was  the  whole 
profit  of  the  day's  labor. 


V. 

a  Sitter  (grief. 

OSY  was  disappointed  when  they 
v.,  cr  reached  home,  to  find  that  Will 
^P  was  not  there.  She  had  resolved  to 
tell  him  at  once  how  sorry  she  was  that  she 
had  been  so  passionate  in  the  morning,  and 
she  wanted  to  relieve  her  burdened  con- 
science without  delay.  But  the  instant 
that  her  eye  fell  on  Spot,  her  whole  heart 
turned  to  him,  and  she  forgot  Will  and 
all  her  trouble  on  his  account  as  she  knelt 
down  beside  the  dog. 

lie  was  lying  where  she  had  left  him  in 
the  morning,  gasping  convulsively  for 
breath  ;  but  when  he  heard  the  step  of  his 

(59) 


60  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


master  and  his  little  Mend  he  opened  his 
eyes ;  and  as  Rosy  threw  herself  upon  the 
floor  beside  him,  he  staggered  to  his  feet, 
and  sank  down  again  with  his  head  upon 
her  lap. 

"  Mother,  he's  dying,"  said  Hosy,  foi 
even  her  unpractised  sight  noticed  the 
glaze  on  the  soft  eyes  as  they  looked  wist- 
fully into  her  face. 

"  Don't  let  him  die,  mother  ;  can't  you 
help  him  ?  " 

"  And  would'nt  I  give  him  the  help  if  I 
had  it,  then,"  said  the  mother.  "  He's  be- 
yond me  entirely,  so  he  is,  poor  tiling." 

The  blind  man  came  with  his  slow  step 
across  the  room,  and  bending  down,  laid 
his  hand  upon  the  head  of  his  faithful  com- 
panion. 

"  Good  Spot,"  he  said,   in  a    quivering 


A   LITTER   GRIEF.  61 


voice.  "  It's  a  true  friend  you've  been 
to  me.  But  we'll  never  tramp  the  streets 
together  again,  old  boy,  never." 

The  dog  tried  to  lick  the  caressing  hand, 
and  then  his  eyes  raised  themselves  again 
to  Rosy's  face  with  a  look  which  seemed 
to  speak  almost  in  living  words,  so  full  of 
love  and  longing  was  it. 

And  the  child  sat  gazing  at  him  with 
flushed  cheeks  and  tearless  eyes.  There 
was  a  great  grief  tugging  at  her  heart- 
strings. It  was  not  only  that  her  dog,  the 
friend  of  her  babyhood,  who  had  grown 
up  with  her,  loved  almost  as  dearly  as  her 
sisters  and  brothers,  lay  dying,  but  all  her 
hopes  and  wishes  were  dying  with  him,  — 
the  hopes  which  she  had  cherished  for 
years,  and  which  last  night  had  seemed 
so  near  their  fulfilment.  It  seemod  to  her 


62  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 

as  if  the  world  had  suddenly  grown  cold 
and  chill,  and  God  and  heaven  were  far, 
far  away;  and  wearied  with  her  day's 
toil,  disheartened  by  ill-success,  she  felt 
as  if  Spot's  death  would  be  the  one  drop 
which  was  needed  to  fill  the  full  cup  to 
overflowing. 

She  had  not  long  to  wait  for  that 
last  drop  of  sorrow.  The  yearning  look 
in  those  glazing  eyes  grew  more  intense ; 
suddenly  the  dog  sprung  to  his  feet, 
and  laid  his  nose  upon  her  neck,  press- 
ing close  to  her  as  if  to  seek  protec- 
tion from  the  icy  hand  which  grasped 
his  heart.  Rosy  clasped  her  arms  around 
him,  hiding  her  face  against  his  head, 
and  with  a  strong,  hard  shudder,  old 
Spot  drew  his  last  breath. 

It   was  a  sad   group    upon    which  his 


A   BITTElt   GRIEF.  63 


dying  eyes  closed.  The  blind  man  with 
his  sightless  eyes  turned  away,  as  if 
even  his  blindness  could  not  shut  out 
the  mournful  picture ;  the  mother,  with 
her  apron  thrown  over  her  head,  crying 
bitterly ;  Susy,  leaning  upon  her  father's 
knee,  turning  away,  like  him,  from  the 
cruel  sight;  and  Rob,  with  his  hand  on 
Rosy's  shoulder,  gazing  in  awe-struck, 
silent  grief,  at  his  playmate ;  while 
Rosy  —  Spot's  favorite  among  them  all  — • 
looked  on  with  burning,  dry  eyes,  clasp- 
ing him  tightly  in  her  loving  arms,  as 
if  she  would  hold  him  back  from  the 
death  which  was  dragging  him  from 
her. 

By  and  by  Mrs.  Conroy  moved  away 
from  the  sorrowful  group,  and  began 
to  make  preparations  for  their  simple 
supper. 


64  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  Come,"  she  said,  when  it  was  ready  ; 
"  come  and  eat  a  bit  before  we  go  to 
our  beds." 

But  no  one  was  hungry.  Even  little 
Robbie,  whose  chubby  hands  were  gen- 
erally only  too  eager  to  grasp  at  any- 
thing eatable,  turned  away  from  the 
slice  of  bread  that  his  mother  offered 
him,  sobbing  out,  "  Robbie  don't  want 
bread ;  Robbie  wants  Spot  to  open  his 
eyes." 

The  mother  was  putting  away  the 
almost  untasted  supper,  when  Will  came 
in. 

"  O  Will,"  said  Robbie,  running  tow- 
ard him,  "  Spot  wont  look  at  his  own 
boy." 

Will  crossed  the  room  to  where  Rosy 
sat  with  the  dog's  head  still  pillowed 
on  her  lap. 


A   BITTER   GRIEF.  65 


M  Is  the  brute  dead  ? "  he  asked, 
roughly. 

She  did  not  answer,  but  his  mother 
said,  "  Speak  softer,  WilL  Yes,  he's 
dead,  poor  fellow." 

He  walked  away  to  the  table  without 
another  word,  and  took  up  the  loaf  of 
bread  which  still  lay  there ;  but  throwing 
it  instantly  down,  said,  "  That  bread  is 
stale." 

"  We  can't  buy  fresh  bread,"  said 
Mrs.  Conroy.  "  It  makes  more  waste 
than  this." 

"  I  should  think  when  you  give  a  fel- 
low nothing  but  dry  bread,  it  might  as 
well  be  fresh,"  said  he,  sullenly. 

Rosy  looked  up  with  flashing  eyes. 
There  were  angry  words  on  her  lips, 


66  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 

but  the  next  moment  she  bent  her  head 
down  again  without  speaking. 

"  You  might  have  what  you  like  to 
eat,  if  you  chose,  Will,"  said  the  father. 
"  'Tis  your  own  fault  you  live  so  poor. 
You  ought  to  work  and  earn  wages 
like  an  honest  man." 

"  I  aint  going  to  work  for  nobody," 
said  Will ;  "  so  there's  no  use  talking." 

"  You  needn't  tell  us  that,"  said  Rosy, 
turning  upon  him  suddenly.  "  We  all 
know  that  though  you're  a  big,  strong 
fellow,  you're  just  mean  enough  to  steal 
your  living  from  your  poor  blind  father, 
rather  than  work  for  yourself!" 

She  was  trembling  with  passion  as  she 
stood  before  him,  with  her  eyes  fixed 
on  his  sullen  face. 

Will  looked  at  her  for  a  moment  with 


A  15ITTER   GRIEF.  67 


a  sneering  smile,  and  then  moved  away, 
saying,  "  This  is  your  second  fury  to- 
day. You're  getting  mighty  pious,  aint 
you  ?  " 

The  child's  whole  aspect  changed  in- 
stantly. Her  upraised  hand  fell  slowly 
to  her  side,  her  eye  lost  its  indignant 
flash,  and,  without  answering  a  single 
word,  she  took  Robbie  by  the  hand  and 
went  away  into  the  closet  in  which 
they  slept ;  and  when  she  had  undressed 
the  boy,  and  laid  him  in  the  bed,  she 
laid  down  beside  him,  and  cried  as  if 
her  heart  would  break.  Her  first  impulse 
to  resentment  had  been  controlled,  but 
the  second  had  been  stronger,  and  had 
overcome  her  before  she  had  time  to 
resist  it;  and  she  had  given  Will  an 
opportunity  to  sneer  at  her  efforts  to 


HOST  CONKOY'S  LESSONS. 


follow  in  the  footsteps  of  her  Master. 
Poor  little  child!  those  fast  flowing  tears 
were  very  bitter. 

By  and  by,  when  she  had  cried  her- 
self into  a  more  quiet  state  of  feeling, 
she  began  to  think  what  it  was  best 
for  her  to  do.  It  was  harder  now  than 
ever  to  ask  Will's  pardon,  and  yet  she 
could  not  still  that  voice  within,  which 
urged  her  to  the  task.  For  a  long 
while  she  lay  there  thinking.  All  was 
still  in  the  outer  room,  and  she  tried  to 
persuade  herself  that  Will  was  asleep, 
and  would  be  angry  if  she  waked  him, 
and  she  tried  to  sleep,  too.  But  it 
would  not  do.  That  small  voice  whis- 
pered, at  first  in  low  tones,  then  louder 
and  louder,  until  at  last,  with  a  sudden 
resolution,  she  rose  from  the  bed,  knelt 


A   BITTER   GRIEF.  69 


down  for  one  moment  to  ask  her  Sav- 
iour for  the  help  she  needed  to  do  his 
will,  and  then  crept  out  into  the  front 
room.  "Will  was  sitting  before  the  stove. 
He  raised  his  head  with  a  start  when 
he  heard  the  patter  of  her  bare  feet  on 
the  boards. 

"  What  are  you  about  ?  Go  back  to 
your  bed,"  he  said,  sharply. 

"  I  will  in  a  moment,"  she  said, 
humbly.  "  We  must  talk  softly,  or  we'll 
wake  father  and  mother.  I'm  so  sorry 
that  I  was  cross  and  angry  to-day. 
Will  you  forgive  me  ?  " 

"Humph,"  said  the  boy,  "that's  all 
very  well.  You're  mighty  sorry  now, 
but  the  next  time  you  fly  into  a  pas- 
sion it'll  be  the  same  old  story.  You 
get  i/rto  a  tantrum,  and  hit  or  knock 


70  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


me  as  you  like,  and  think  that  all 
you've  got  to  do  is  to  come  crying,  and 
say,  '  Please  forgive  me,' "  and  he  imi- 
tated the  tremulous  tones  of  her  voice. 
"  No,  I  wont  forgive  you.  I  don't  be- 
lieve in  your  kind  of  pious.  Go  off  to 
bed." 

"  O  Will,  please  do,"  she  said,  beseech- 
ingly. 

"  I  wont.  There,  do  you  hear  what  1 
say.  Now  go,  or  I'll  make  you." 

He  started  up  with  a  threatening  gesture, 
and,  frightened  by  his  angry  manner,  she 
fled  back  into  her  closet 


VI. 

a 


|?  HE  sound  of  voices  loud  in  dispute 
mixed  itself  with  Rosy's  morning 
dreams,  and  the  noise  of  a  heavy  fall 
made  her  start  up  in  her  bed  with  sudden 
terror.  At  first  she  could  not  tell  whether 
it  had  been  all  a  dream  or  not,  but  the 
next  moment  her  mother's  voice  called  her 
in  a  quick,  frightened  tone,  and  running 
into  the  front  room,  with  her  heart  beat- 
ing fast  with  fear,  she  found  her  father  lying 
upon  the  floor,  and  her  mother  kneeling 
beside  him,  trying  to  raise  him  in  her  arms. 
"  O,  mother,"  cried  Rosy,  "  is  father 
dead,  too  ?  " 

(71) 


72  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  No,  child.  The  Lord  be  praised  for 
sparing  us  that." 

"  No,  Rosy,  it's  nothing  very  bad,"  said 
the  father  cheerfully.  "  I'm  thinking  my 
ankle's  got  a  sprain,  or  the  likes  of  it," 
and  he  tried  to  lift  himself  to  his  feet. 
But  the  effort  gave  him  such  pain  that  he 
sank  back  with  a  groan. 

"How  did  he  happen  to  fall?"  asked 
Rosy,  as  she  gently  wiped  away  the  great 
drops  which  stood  on  his  forehead. 

"  '  Twas  Will  did  it,"  said  the  mother. 
"  Your  father  bade  him  bide  at  home  the 
morn  till  it  was  time  for  him  to  go  out 
with  his  wares ;  but  V/ill  wouldn't  hearken 
to  it.  He  wouldn't  dj  so  much  as  to  lead 
him  to  a  good  corner,  so  that  you  might 
go  to  your  school ;  and  the  father  was  sore 
angered.  They  got  into  high  words,  and 


ROSY  A  TRADESWOMAN.  73 


when  Will  tried  to  pass  the  door,  the 
father  laid  hold  on  him,  and  between  them, 
I  don't  rightly  know  how  it  was,  he  fell 
over  the  step  here  with  his  foot  bent  under 
him.  Oh,  dear,  what'll  we  do  at  all  with 
the  father  laid  by  ?  " 

"  Never  mind,  mother  dear,"  said  Rosy, 
as  Mrs.  Conroy  took  up  the  corner  of  her 
apron  to  wipe  away  the  tears  which  were 
rolling  slowly  down  her  face.  "  You 
mustn't  get  discouraged." 

"  But  child  there's  never  a  cent  in  the 
house,  and  your  father  may  lie  for  weeks 
afore  he  can  put  his  foot  to  the  ground ; 
and  there's  six  hungry  mouths  to  feed." 

"  We'll  see  and  get  something  to  fill 
them,  mother.  Don't  be  afraid.  Let  me 
go  out  with  father's  basket  to-day.  Maybe 
I  can  sell  a  little." 


74  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  Dear  heart,"  said  the  mother,  tenderly. 

"  But  I'd  be  afeared  to  have   you  go   out 

your  lone,  Rosy." 

"  God  wont  let  any  harm  happen  me." 
"  No  more  he    wouldn't  then,  and  you 

working  for  the  father  and  mother  and  the 

little  ones." 

• 

They  had  succeeded  in  lifting  the  blind 
man  into  a  chair,  and  while  Mrs.  Conroy 
bound  up  the  injured  foot,  Rosy  went  back 
to  Robbie  who  was  fretting  and  crying  in 
the  closet. 

She  had  spoken  cheerfully  to  her  mother, 
for  her  warm,  loving  heart  was  full  of  pity 
for  her,  but  she  had  said  what  she  did 
because  she  wanted  to  console  her,  not 
because  she  felt  the  comfort  in  her  own 
soul.  She  had  said  that  God  would  watch 
over  her,  and  yet  she  felt  as  if  she  could 


ROSY   A   TRADESWOMAN.  /--? 


not  find  God  that  morning ;  and  her  whole 
heart  was  roused  again,  against  the  broth- 
er whose  wickedness  had  made  so  much 
suffering  for  them  all. 

An  hour  later  Rosy  went  out  with  her 
father's  basket  on  her  arm  ;  for  the  children, 
hungry  after  the  fast  of  the  past  evening, 
had  eaten  so  heartily  that  but  little  was 
left  for  the  mid-day  meal. 

If  the  many,  many  people  who  passed 
the  corner  of  Fourteenth  Street  and  Broad- 
way, on  that  bright  Saturday,  could  have 
looked  into  the  heart  of  the  child  who 
stood  there  quietly  offering  for  sale  her 
papers  of  pins  and  cards  of  buttons,  they 
would  have  paused  and  tried  to  do  some- 
thing toward  lightening  its  load  of  care. 
But  if  Rosy's  basket  had  been  filled  with 
money,  that  would  have  lifted  but  a  part 


76  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


of  the  load  from  her  spirit,  for  the  heavi- 
est weight  resting  there  was  a  burden  of 
angry,  resentful  feeling.  Yesterday  she 
had  gone  through  a  hard  struggle  with  her 
conscience ;  but  to-day  she  would  not 
listen  for  a  moment  to  its  suggestions,  and 
every  time  that  it  raised  its  voice,  telling 
her  that  she  ought  to  forgive  her  brother, 
she  answered  it  angrily,  saying,  that  she 
had  done  all  that  she  could;  she  had 
asked  his  pardon,  and  he  had  unkindly 
refused  it,  and  she  could  not  and  would 
not  forgive  his  cruelty  to  her  blind  father. 
So  she  stood  there  brooding  over  all  the 
trouble  that  he  had  caused,  until  her 
whole  soul  was  full  of  bitterness,  and  her 
usually  bright  face  clouded  and  saddened. 
It  was  growing  late,  and  the  crowd 
of  people  passing  up  and  down  began 


ROSY   A   TRADESWOMAN. 


to  thin  somewhat,  but  still  the  child  stood 
patiently  holding  out  her  cards.  By 
and  by  a  big  boy  turned  the  corner ;  he 
stopped  beside  her,  and  suddenly  striking 
her  basket  with  his  elbow,  upset  it  on  the 
walk,  and  with  a  loud  laugh  ran  off. 

"Just  like  a  boy,"  said  Rosy  to  herself 
as  she  picked  up  the  scattered  articles. 
•'  All  boys  are  horrid !  " 

A  remorseful  thought  of  Robbie  with 
his  pretty  prattle  and  sweet  ways,  came 
across  her  mind,  as  she  made  that  strong 
assertion ;  and  the  next  moment  she 
doubted  again  whether  it  was  quite  a  fair 
condemnation,  for  a  pleasant,  hearty  voice 
said,  — 

"  Hallo,  Rosy,  is  this  you  ?  Where's 
your  father  ?  " 

"  He's  home,"  said  Rosy.  "  He's  had  a 
fall  and  lamed  his  foot" 


78  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  My !  That's  bad,  aint  it  ?  But  what's 
happened  to  your  basket?  Your  things 
are  all  in  a  mess." 

"  I  know  it     A  boy  knocked  it  over." 

"  Did  he  do  it  o'  purpose  ?  " 

"  Yes.     Wasn't  it  mean  ?  " 

"  Mean !  I  wish  I'd  been  here  to  caich 
him.  I  reckon  he  wouldn't  have  wanted 
to  see  Ned  Dolan  very  soon  again.  You 
look  right  tired.  Sit  down  on  my  foot- 
block,  and  I'll  try  to  sell  some  for  you." 

He  placed  the  block  upon  its  side  on 
the  pavement,  and,  seating  her  upon  it, 
turned  away  with  her  basket  in  his  hand. 

"Buttons!  Buttons!  Buy  my  nice  but- 
tons !  Strong  and  good,  and  wash  first- 
rate  !  "  called  Ned's  clear  voice. 

And  many  turned  to  listen  to  it,  there 
was  such  an  honest,  manly  ring  in  it. 


ROSY  A   TRADESWOMAN.  79 


Some  did  more  than  pause  to  listen; 
and  when  Ned  pointed  toward  the  child 
sitting  close  at  hand,  and  told  them  that 
her  father  was  blind  and  lame,  and  that 
she  had  stood  there  all  day  long  try- 
ing to  earn  a  little  money  to  buy  bread, 
he  found  that  there  were  some  generous 
hearts  among  his  hearers,  and  the  pennies 
and  other  small  pieces  of  money  fell  quite 
plentifully  into  the  basket  By  and  by, 
he  came  back  to  where  Rosy  was  sitting. 

"I've  got  a  heap  of  coppers,"  said  he. 
"  Let's  count  up  and  see  how  much 
you've  made  altogether." 

She  gave  him  the  hoard  which  she 
had  put  carefully  into  the  bosom  of  hei 
dress,  and  he  proceeded  to  count  it. 

"  One  dollar  and  eighteen  cents.  That's 
pretty  good,  aint  it?" 


80  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  One  dollar  and  eighteen  cents ! "  re- 
peated Rosy,  in  amazement.  "  Why,  Ned, 
that  can't  be!" 

"  Yes,  it  can.  You  gave  me  thirty 
cents,  and  I  got  the  rest.  One  old  gent 
gave  me  a  twenty-five,  and  a  little  chap 
gave  me  two  tens  when  I  told  them 
that  your  father  was  blind ;  and  the 
rest  came  from  one  and  another,  you 
know.  Take  it,  it's  yours." 

"  But,  Ned,  you  ought  to  have  part, 
because  you  sold  the  things." 

"  No,  I  oughtn't ;  and  besides,  I  didn't 
sell  much,  they  mostly  gave  it.  Come  on. 
Let's  start  for  home." 

Rosy  put  tlie  money  carefully  away, 
telling  him  over  and  over  again  how 
much  she  thanked  him,  and  they  turned 
toward  home,  Ned  carrying  her  basket  as 
well  as  hi*  own  block. 


ROSY   A   TRADESWOMAN.  81 


"  I  say,  Rosy,"  said  the  boy,  after 
they  had  walked  some  distance,  "  there's 
somethin'  ailin'  you.  What  is  it?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,  only  it  seems  at> 
if  every  one  was  bad  except  father  and 
mother  and  the  children,  and  you,  Ned 
You  are  good." 

"  Me  good,"  said  the  boy,  bending 
eagerly  forward.  "Do  you  think  that? 
Honest,  now  Rosy." 

"  Yes,  I  guess  I  do  think  so,"  said 
Rosy,  so  earnestly  that  Ned  had  no 
chance  to  doubt  her. 

"  Pve  been  trying  for  it,"  said  he, 
thoughtfully.  "  I've  been  trying  for  it 
right  hard,  but  I  don't  think  it's  come 
yet." 

"  You're  real  good  to  me,   any  way," 

8 


82  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


and  Rosy  drew  closer  to  him,  and  slipped 
her  hand  through  his  arm. 

"  P'raps  I  am  to  you.  But,  Rosy,  its 
so  mighty  hard  to  be  good  when  all  the 
other  fellows  are  bad." 

"  Yes,  Ned,  it's  very  hard.  Some  days 
are  so  different  from  other  days,  too. 
Now  sometimes  I  feel  as  if  I  loved 
God  so  much  that  I'd  do  anything  he 
wants;  and  then  other  days  he  seems 
far  away  from  me,  and  everything  goes 
wrong,  and  I  feel  cross  and  wicked  all 
the  time.  Do  you  feel  that  way  ? " 

"  Yes,  and  that's  why  I  think  I  can't 
be  good  yet.  Aint  it  queer,  Rosy?  I 
wonder  what  makes  it.'' 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  she,  "  but  I  wish 
things  were  different." 

"  So   do  I ;  but  I   aint    agoin'   to  give 


ROSY  A   TRADESWOMAN.  83 


over  trying,  that's  sure,"  said  Ned. 
«  Are  you,  Rosy  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  Rosy,  as  she  turned  into 
the  court  which  led  to  her  home ; 
but  there  was  no  heartiness  in  her 
tone. 

The  little  girl  was  in  danger  that 
night.  She  had  allowed  a  spirit  of  un- 
forgiving anger  to  take  possession  of 
her  heart,  and  it  was  bunding  her  to 
all  that  was  fair  and  sweet  in  her  life, 
and  opening  her  eyes  to  all  that  was 
dark  and  dreary. 


Rosy  Conroy. 


p.  85. 


VII. 

^rm0r  Imthlefo  on. 

ISS  RAYMOND'S  class  in  Sunday 
school  was  usually  very  quiet  and 
attentive,  her  only  difficulty  being 
Rosy  Conroy's  irresistible  inclination  to 
laugh  at  any  little  circumstance  which 
struck  her  as  amusing.  Miss  Raymond 
had  no  desire  to  repress  the  child's  love 
of  mirth,  but  the  fun  and  merriment 
which  seemed  always  bubbling  up  within 
her,  sometimes  broke  out  in  a  bright 
sparkle,  as  if  it  could  not  be  restrained, 
even  in  the  midst  of  the  lessons  for  the 
day. 

For  some   weeks    past,  however,    Rosy 

(85) 


86  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


had  been  very  attentive,  and  her  teacher 
had  not  found  it  necessary  to  check 
her  laughter;  but  on  the  Sabbath  follow- 
ing the  day  of  her  father's  accident  she 
was  more  than  quiet.  Her  usually  eager 
greeting  was  dull  and  listless,  and  dur- 
ing the  singing  of  the  hymns,  in  which 
she  generally  joined  with  such  keen 
pleasure,  she  sat  looking  silently  down 
upon  her  book ;  and  all  through  the  les- 
son her  manner  was  the  same. 

She  was  about  to  leave  the  class 
when  the  school  was  dismissed,  but 
Miss  Raymond  laid  her  hand  upon  her 
shoulder,  and  said,  "  Can  you  wait  one 
moment,  Rosy?  I  want  to  speak  to 
you." 

"  What  troubles  you  to-day  ? "  she 
asked,  drawing  her  toward  her  when 


THE   ARMOR   EUCKLED    ON.  87 


the  other  girls  had  left  the  seat  "  1 
never  saw  you  look  so  grave  before." 

Rosy's  tears  lay  as  near  the  surface 
as  her  smiles,  and  the  gentle  voice  and 
words  brought  them  into  her  eyes  at 
once. 

"  I  don't  know,"  she  said,  "  unless 
it's  because  every  one  is  ugly  and 
wicked." 

Miss  Raymond  moved  so  as  to  shield 
her  from  observation,  then  she  said,  — 

"  What  makes  you  think  that  everybody 
is  ugly  and  wicked,  Rosy  ?  " 

"  Oh,  a  great  many  things.  Will  be- 
haves shamefully.  He  wont  work,  and 
he's  bad  to  father.  Yesterday  he  was 
quarrelling  with  him,  and  somehow 
father  fell,  and  he's  sprained  his  foot. 
He's  a  dreadful  boy !  " 


88  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


''And  do  you  try  to  do  him  all  the 
good  you  can?" 

"  He  wont  let  me  do  him  any  good ! 
I've  tried  and  tried,  and  it  aint  any 
use.  I'm  not  going  to  try  any  more!" 

"  We  wont  talk  about  that  just  now," 
said  Miss  Raymond .  "  I  think  that  my 
little  Rosy  wants  comforting,  and  I  had 
rather  do  that.  Now  try  to  tell  me  just 
how  you  feel,  and  let  us  see  if  I  can 
help  you," 

Rosy's  manner  had  been  angry  and 
excited  when  speaking  of  Will,  but  it 
changed  instantly. 

"  I  can't  tell  how  I  feel,"  she  said, 
looking  up  at  her  teacher  with  her  face 
all  trembling  with  emotion ;  "  but  I'm 
afraid  I  don't  love  my  Saviour,  after  all." 

"  What    makes   you    think   so,    Rosy  ? 


THE   ARMOR  BUCKLED   ON.  89 


YOQ  told  me  only  a  day  or  two  ago  that 
you  did  love  him." 

"  I  know  I  did,  and  I  thought  so  then ; 
but  everything  seems  different  now.  Some- 
times I  felt  as  if  he  was  close  by,  and  I 
was  so  glad  to  think  he  was  so  near  me ; 
but  now  he  seems  so  far,  so  very  far  away, 
and)  oh,  I  do  feel  so  lonely !  "  and  she  hid 
her  face  against  Miss  Raymond's  arm, 
sobbing  bitterly. 

"  Did  you  say  your  prayers  this  morn- 
ing, Rosy?" 

"  Yes,  but  it  didn't  do  a  bit  of  good." 
"  Did  you  say,  '  Our  Father  which  art 
in  heaven  ? ' 

"  Yes,  ma'am,  I  always  say  that." 
"  Did  you  think  of  any  one  whom  you 
needed  to  forgive,  when  you  said,  *  Forgive 
us  our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debtors  ?  ' ; 


90  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


Rosy  looked  as  if  she  did  not  quite  com- 
prehend ;  but  all  at  once  the  full  meaning 
of  the  question  flashed  across  her  mind. 

"  O  Miss  Raymond ! "  she  said,  has- 
tily, "I  never  thought  of  all  that  meant, 
before." 

"  I  was  afraid  that  you  had  not,  Rosy. 
That  is  a  very  solemn  petition.  This 
morning  you  asked  God  to  forgive  your 
sins  as  you  forgive  the  sins  of  others.  Do 
you  want  him  to  answer  that  prayer;  to 
forgive  you  as  you  forgive  your  brother  ?  " 

"  No,  no !  I  never  meant  that.  Indeed, 
I  didn't!" 

"  I  don't  suppose  you  did,  dear.  But 
we  must  never  ask  God  to  do  anything 
for  us  unless  we  fully  mean  all  that  we 
say.  Now  let  us  talk  about  your  trouble. 
Here  is  a  child  who  has  a  loving  father 


THE   ARMOR  BUCKLED   ON.  91 


and  mother,  three  dear  little  sisters,  and 
one  of  the  sweetest  little  brothers  ever 
seen;  yet  this  same  child  tells  me  that 
every  one  is  ugly  and  wicked.  Because 
she  has  one  bad  brother  she  turns  away 
from  the  precious  thought  of  all  the  other 
dear  friends  whom  God  has  given  her, 
and  nurses  up  her  feelings  of  anger  and 
impatience  until  she  almost  forgets  that 
there  is  any  sunshine  at  all  in  the  world. 
This  is  very  sinful,  Rosy.  You  are  wrong- 
ing your  dear  ones  at  home ;  you  are 
wronging  me  ;  and,  worse  than  all,  you 
are  wronging  God." 

Poor  Rosy  felt  as  if  this  were  laying  a 
very  heavy  weight  of  blame  upon  her 
shoulders;  but  the  rebuking  voice  was 
gentle,  and  the  hand  which  held  hers  was 
very  tender  in  its  touch. 


92  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


I  couldn't  help  it,"  she  said,  piteousiy. 
"  I  did  try  to  be  good  to  him  when  he 
was  bad  to  me.  I  did  forgive  him  when 
he  was  cross  about  the  school  and 
wouldn't  let  me  go,  though  I  wanted  to 
so  bad;  and  I  begged  his  pardon  for  be- 
ing naughty  to  him.  But  when  he  be- 
haves so  to  father  and  mother  I  can't  bear 
it.  They're  so  good  to  him.  Mother  al- 
ways keeps  a  big  bit  of  bread  for  him, 
never  mind  how  pinched  we  are ;  and 
father  scarcely  ever  scolds  him.  I  can't 
be  forgiving  and  forgiving  all  the  time, 
and  he  never  a  bit  the  better  for  it." 

"  Suppose  that  God  said  he  could  not 
be  forgiving  and  forgiving  all  the  time, 
where  would  my  Rosy  be?" 

The  child  was  silent,  and  Miss  Ray- 
mond went  on.  "  The  reason  that  you 


THE  ARMOR  BUCKLED   ON.  93 


feel  so  lonely,  Rosy,  —  so  far  away  from 
God,  —  is  that  you  are  keeping  in  your 
heart  feelings  that  he  does  not  love. 
Gentle  Jesus  cannot  stay  in  a  heart  that 
is  full  of  anger  and  bitterness.  They 
crowd  him  out,  and  he  turns  sadly  away, 
thinking  that  his  little  lamb  is  wander- 
ing away  from  him.  Does  this  little  lamb 
mean  to  let  him  go  from  her,  and  leave 
her  to  lose  herself  in  the  wilderness;  or, 
<loes  she  mean  to  drive  these  wicked  feel- 
ings out  of  her  heart  and  take  him  in 
again,  to  be  her  joy  and  comfort  ? " 

"  I  know  that  it  is  very  difficult,"  she 
continued,  after  pausing  a  moment  for  an 
answer,  "  very  difficult,  indeed,  to  forgive 
any  one  who  abuses  those  we  love ;  but 
Jesus  Christ  came  to  die  for  those  who 
had  rebelled  against  his  Father,  and  can- 


94  EOSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


not  you  be  patient  with  one  who  sins 
against  your  father  ?  It  grieves  the  blessed 
Saviour  to  see  that  after  he  has  forgiven 
you  so  much,  you  are  so  angry  with 
your  brother.  You  do  not  want  to  grieve 
him,  do  you,  Rosy  ?  " 

" No,  I  don't,  indeed  I  don't!  But,  Miss 
Raymond,  it's  so  hard ! " 

"  I  know  it  is,  my  darling,  I  know  it 
is ;  but  you  must  go  to  Jesus  for  the 
strength  you  need  for  such  a  task.  A 
feeble  little  girl  like  you  could  never 
carry  such  a  weight  alone,  but  there  is 
One  who  will  carry  it  for  you.  When 
you  find  that  anything  is  too  hard  for 
you,  take  it  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  he 
will  make  it  easy  for  his  little  child. 
He  knew  just  how  weak  and  tempted 
you  were,  when  he  told  you  to  forgive 


THE  ARMOR  BUCKLED   ON.  95 


even  as  you  wanted  to  be  forgiven; 
he  saw  too  that  you  were  not  strong 
enough  to  do  it  alone ;  but  then  he  knew 
that  he  was  able  to  help  you,  and  that, 
weak  as  you  were,  you  could  do  all 
things  through  him.  Do  you  not  believe 
that,  Rosy?" 

"  Yes ;  but  then,  Miss  Raymond,  it's 
so  much  easier  to  feel  it  when  I'm  sit- 
ting here  by  you,  while  you  tell  me  all 
about  it.  When  I  go  home  and  see 
how  unhappy  mother  looks,  and  see  poor 
father  sitting  with  his  foot  up  on  a  chair 
and  bis  face  so  troubled  and  anxious,  it 
is  very  different.  Then  all  the  good  feel- 
ings go  away,  and  I  get  so  vexed  at 
Will,  I  don't  know  what  to  do.  K  I 
could  only  stay  in  Sunday  school  with 
you  all  the  time,  I'm  sure  I'd  be  a  better 
girl." 


96  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"But  your  Master  does  not  want  you 
to  do  that,  Rosy.  He  wants  you  to  go 
out  into  the  world  and  work  for  him. 
He  does  not  mean  that  you  shall  be  a 
drone  in  this  busy  hive;  he  has  work 
for  his  little  servant  to  do.  Suppose  that 
one  of  our  soldiers  should  fall  out  of 
the  ranks  as  the  army  was  marching  to 
battle,  and,  sitting  down  in  some  pleasant, 
sunny  spot,  should  say,  *  I  love  my  coun- 
try very  much,  so  I  mean  to  sit  quietly 
here,  and  just  think  how  grand  she  is, 
and  how  much  I  love  to  serve  her ; '  what 
sort  of  a  soldier  would  that  be  ?  Wouldn't 
he  show  his  love  more  by  standing  up 
face  to  face  with  the  enemies  of  his 
country,  and  fighting  for  her  with  all  his 
strength  and  might  ?  Of  course  he  would ; 
and  so  will  my  Rosy  show  her  love  for 


THE   ARMOR   BUCKLED   ON.  97 


her  Master  by  fighting  in  the  ranks  of 
his  army.  We  want  to  sit  down  some- 
times in  the  sunny  nook  to  think  of  him, 
but  it  must  be  after  the  battle  is  fought. 
Isn't  that  so,  little  soldier?" 

"  I  guess  it  is,"  said  Rosy,  with  sud- 
den animation.  "  It's  lazy  to  rest  before 
you  work,  isn't  it?  I'm  real  glad  I  told 
it  all  to  you,  Miss  Raymond.  I  feel  so 
much  better." 

"  Can  you  forgive    Will   now,  Rosy  ?  " 

"  I'll  try  very  hard,"  she  said,  rather 
tremulously.  "  And  God  will  forgive  me, 
wont  he?" 

"  Yes,  dear.  And  if  you  try  to  be 
kind  to  your  brother,  all  these  angry, 
wicked  feelings  which  have  shut  the  door 
of  your  heart  against  the  dear  Saviour 


98  ROSY  COJTCIOY'S  LESSONS. 


will  pass  away,  and  Jesus  will  corne  in 
again  to  make  it  glad." 

"  Then  I'll  be  so  happy  again,  wont  I  ? 
I  am  real  sorry  I  said  I  wasn't  going  to 
try  to  do  Will  good  any  more.  I  will  try 
again  as  much  as  ever  I  can.  If  I  don't  do* 
what  I  can  for  him,  that  wont  be  forgiving 
like  I  want  God  to  forgive  me,  —  will  it  ?  " 

"  No,  it  would  not  Is  Will  at  home 
now,  Rosy  ?  " 

"  No,  ma'am.  He  hasn't  been  at  home 
since  he  pushed  father  down.  I  suppose 
he's  afraid  to  come  back." 

"  Do  you  know  where  he  is  ?  " 

"  No,  ma'am ;  mother  tried  to  find  out 
this  morning,  but  she  couldn't.  I  —  I  "  — 
Rosy's  face  crimsoned  as  she  hesitated. 

"  Could  you  have  found  him  if  you 
would,  Rosy  ?  " 


THE  ARMOR   BUCKLED   ON.  99 


"  Maybe  some  of  the  boys  could  have 
told  me  if  J  had  asked,  but  —  but  — 

0  Miss  Raymond,  I  felt  as  if  I   couldn't 
bear  to  see  him  this  morning.     But  that  is 
all  gone  now,''  she  continued  in  a  steadier 
tone ;  "  I'll  try  this  afternoon  to  find  him ; 
and  if  I  do,   I'll  see   and  win  him  home. 

1  truly  will." 

"  I  know  you  will,"  said  Miss  Raymond. 
"I  see  that  the  little  soldier  has  buckled 
on  her  armor,  and  means  to  fight  her 
battles  bravely.  But  she  must  not  forget 
to  keep  close  to  her  Captain." 

"  No,  I  wont  forget,''  said  Rosy,  thought- 
fully. "  I  don't  think  I  could  let  him  go 
again,  I've  been  so  miserable  without 
him." 

And  with  her  young  heart  full  to  over- 
flowing with  its  new-found  peace  and  joy, 
the  child  went  out  on  her  mission. 


VIII. 

"Sat  CttrmrV 

)OW  Susy,  we  must  run  along  as  fast 
as  we  can,"  said  Rosy  to  her  little 
sister,  who  had  been  waiting  pa- 
tiently for  her  during  her  long  conversation 
with  Miss  Raymond ;  "  mother  will  wonder 
what  has  become  of  us.  Isn't  it  a  beau- 
tiful afternoon  ?  It  makes  one  feel  so 
bright  and  nice." 

"  Why,  Rosy,"  said  Susy,  looking  at  her 
in  amazement,  "  when  we  were  coming  to 
school,  I  said  it  was  nice,  and  you  said 
'I  don't  think  so.  It's  horrid  cold.'" 

"  Did  I  ?  "  said  Rosy,  laughing  merrily. 
"  I  don't  think  it  is  horrid  now,  anyway. 

(101) 


102          ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


Maybe  I've  got  warmed  up.  I  feel  real 
good.  Let's  skip." 

So  they  twined  their  arms  around 
one  another,  and  away  they  went  down 
the  street  with  that  peculiar,  dancing  mo- 
tion which  always  tells  us  that  a  happy 
heart  wings  the  light-springing  foot.  The 
little  feet  never  "  skip "  when  the  heart 
is  sad. 

"  There's  Ned,"  said  Rosy,  as  they  ap- 
proached the  entrance  to  the  court,  and 
saw  Ned  Dolan  standing  near  it,  "  he's 
just  the  one  I  want." 

"  Ned,"  —  motioning  him  away  from  the 
knot  of  boys  with  whom  he  was  talking,  — 
"  I'd  like  to  speak  to  you." 

"What  is  it?"  said  he,  sauntering 
slowly  toward  her. 

"  Do  you  know  where  Will    is  ?  " 


JOE  TURNER'S.  103 


"  No ;  but  I  guess  I  could  hunt  him  up. 
F  saw  him  this  morning  down  at  Joe  Tur- 
ner's." 

"With  that  bad  boy?  Why  he's  a 
thief,  aint  he  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  tried  to  make  Will  come  home, 
but  he  said  your  father  was  so  angered 
at  him  he  wouldn't  let  him  in." 

"  Don't  you  think  maybe  he'd  come  if  I 
went  after  him  ?  " 

"  You !  Why  it's  away  across  town, 
'most  down  to  the  river ;  and  an  awful 
bad  place,  too.  You  couldn't  go." 

"  Wouldn't  you  go  with  me,  and  take 
care  of  me,  Ned  ?  "  She  came  closer,  and 
looked  up  at  him  coaxingly.  "  I  think 
I  could  win  him  back ;  and  I'm  so  afraid 
he'll  get  into  trouble  there." 

"  I    shouldn't    think    you'd     want  him 


104          ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 

back.  He's  ugly  enough  to  you  when 
he's  here.  I'd  let  him  bide  away." 

"Oh,  no,  Ned,  that  isn't  right.  That 
isn't  the  way  we  want  God  to  do  to  us 
when  we  do  wrong.  Wont  you  take 
me?" 

"  'Course  I  will  if  you're  set  on  goin'. 
But  supposin'  he  aint  there  ?  He  may 
be  off  t'other  end  of  the  city  by  this  time." 

u  Then  we'll  be  off  to  the  other  end, 
too,''  said  Rosy,  laughing.  "  We'll  be  aa 
smart  as  he  is.  We'll  find  him»  and 
bring  him  safe  home/' 

"  Come  along,  then.  I  guess  I  can 
travel  as  far  as  you  can.  Seems  to  me 
you've  brightened  up  considerable  since 
last  night.  You  didn't  look  much  like 
laughin'  then." 

"  Shall  I  tell  you  the  reason,  Ned  ? 
Don't  you  know  you  said  last  night  that 


JOE  TURNER'S.  105 


you  wasn't  going  to  give  up  trying  to  be 
good  ?  I'm  afraid  I  had  given  up  trying 
just  then  ;  and  that  was  why  I  felt  so 
miserable.  But  I've  begun  again ;  and 
the  first  thing  is  to  find  Will,  and  to  be 
kind  to  him." 

"  I  see,"  said  Ned,  thoughtfully.  "  Come 
on.  I'm  ready  for  that  job." 

"  Wait  one  minute  till  I  tell  moth- 
er," —  and  away  she  ran. 

"  How  late  you  are,  Rosy,"  said  Mrs. 
Conroy,  as  the  child  sprang  into  the 
room,  and  pausing  for  one  instant  to 
snatch  up  Rob,  and  for  another  to  kiss 
her  father,  finally  reached,  her  mother's 
side.  «  What  kept  you  ?  " 

"  I  was  talking  to  Miss  Raymond," 
said  Rosy. 

"  And  she's   sent  you  home  bright  and 


106          ROSY  CONHOY'S  LESSONS. 


cheery  again,  eh?  Sure  and  I  thought 
some  fairy'd  been  and  changed  my  laugh- 
ing Rosy  for  a  sad-faced  girl.  But  the 
light's  come  back  to  your  eye  again,  dar- 
lint,  so  it  has ; "  and  the  mother  took  the 
smiling  face  between  her  hands  and 
kissed  it  fondly. 

"  The  light  isn't  in  your  eyes,  mother," 
said  Rosy,  as  she  noticed  her  troubled 
look.  "  You're  tired  with  the  twins  and 
Rob." 

"  I'm  tired  with  a  heavier  load  than 
either  the  twins  or  my  little  man,  dear. 
It's  Will  that's  weighing  on  me.  Two 
days  and  a  night  he's  been  away;  and 
if  he  bides  from  me  another  night,  and 
me  not  knowing  where  he  is,  alive  or  dead, 
I'll  just  go  distracted.  If  I  could  only 
walk  good,  I'd  leave  the  house  and  the 
children  with  you  and  the  father,  and  go 


JOE  TURNER'S.  107 

after  him  till  I  found  him.  But  I  fail  so 
soon  at  the  walking,  it  aint  no  use  to 
try." 

"  Let  me  go,  mother.  I'll  bring  him 
home." 

"No,  child,  he's  too  rough  with  you. 
If  you  went  nigh  him,  he'd  be  just  like 
to  fetch  you  a  blow.  Where  would  you 
go  to  find  him?" 

"  Ned  Dolan  will  help  me.  Let  me  go, 
mother,  dear,  and  if  I  stay  late  don't  you 
be  worried,  because  he'll  be  with  me. 
We'll  coax  Will  home,  I  guess." 

"  You  blessed  little  child,"  said  the 
mother,  and,  wrapping  her  up  warmly  as 
their  scanty  wardrobe  would  allow,  she 
sent  her  on  her  way. 

"  No,  Rosy,  no,"  protested  Rob,  as  he 
saw  her  about  to  leave  him  again  ;  "  stay 
to  your  boy." 


108         ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"I'll  be  back  soon,  Rob.  I'm  going 
for  Will,"  said  Rosy,  pausing  at  the 
door. 

« Don't  want  Will,  bad  Will,"  replied 
Robbie,  with  a  trembling  quaver  in  his 
voice. 

"  Maybe  he'll  be  good  when  he  comes 
home  again.  Robbie  must  pet  him  and 
'ove  him." 

But  he  shook  his  head  at  that  idea, 
and  the  difficulty  of  Rosy's  task  was 
almost  doubled  by  hearing  him  cry  out, 
with  a  heartbroken  sob,  as  she  closed 
the  door,  "  Bad,  bad  Rosy,  leave  Rob !  " 

At  first  it  seemed  as  if  she  must  go 
back.  —  as  if  it  were  too  hard  to  grieve; 
her  dear  little  Robbie  for  Will's  sake ; 
but  the  next  moment  she  had  conquered 
herself,  and,  running  quickly  up  the  alley, 
she  joined  Ned  Dolan. 


JOE  TURNER'S.  109 


"  Joe  Turner's "  was  by  no  means  a 
safe  or  pleasant  place  for  any  child  to 
visit,  as  Rosy  well  knew;  but  with 
Ned's  strong  arm  to  defend  her,  she  did 
not  much  fear,  and  she  ran  along  beside 
him,  exerting  herself  to  keep  pace  with 
his  long  strides,  and  chatting  as  gayly 
as  if  she  were  out  on  a  holiday  jaunt. 
Even ,  when  they  drew  near  the  river, 
and  the  cold  November  wind  swept  up 
the  street  with  a  sharp,  stinging  whistle, 
she  only  drew  her  shawl  closer  around 
her,  and  without  a  word  of  complaint, 
struggled  on. 

By  and  by  they  reached  the  house. 
Tt  had  once  been  a  storehouse,  but  for 
years  it  had  been  slowly  falling  to  ruin, 
and  was  now  inhabited  by  a  set  of  idle, 
half-grown  boys,  who,  having  no  other 


110         EOSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


home,  took  what  shelter  its  broken  roof 
and  trembling  walls  could  give.  Joe 
Turner  was  its  oldest  inmate,  and  the 
house  went,  among  these  boys,  by  his 
name.  It  looked  dreary  and  desolate 
enough  as  they  approached  it,  with  the 
twilight  falling  darkly  around  it,  and  the 
wind  dashing  the  crazy  shutters  back 
and  forth ;  while  the  open  door  swung 
slowly  to  and  fro  with  a  dismal  creaking 
noise. 

«O  Ned!  Isn't  it  a  dreadful  place?" 
said  Rosy,  clinging  close  to  him. 

"  Yes,  it  is  pretty  lonesome  of  a  dark 
night.  Come  inside,  while  I  see  if  he's 
here." 

He  had  to  lift  her  up  and  set  her 
within  the  door,  for  the  wooden  steps, 
which  led  to  the  entrance,  had  long 


JOE  TURNER'S.  Ill 


since  disappeared ;  and  when  he  sprang 
up  beside  her  and  took  her  hand  to 
lead  her  on,  Rosy  was  forced  to  commit 
herself  entirely  to  his  guidance;  it  was 
so  dark. 

"  Wait  a  minute,  and  I'll  strike  a 
light,"  said  Ned.  "  There's  a  trap-door 
somewhere  between  the  stairs  and  the 
door,  and  it  wouldn't  be  very  gay  to 
walk  down  there." 

He  took  a  box  of  matches  from  his 
pocket  and  lighted  one.  A  flight  of 
stairs,  with  the  banisters  broken  down, 
and  with  huge  rat-holes  in  almost  every 
step,  rose  directly  before  them ;  the  trap- 
door of  which  Ned  had  spoken  lying 
open,  close  beside. 

"  It's  good  I  struck  the  match,  wasn't 
it  ?  "  said  he.  "  I  guess  he's  gone  off,  or 


112  ROSY   CONilOY'S   LESSONS. 


we'd    hear   'em.     I'll    call.     Hallo,  there, 
Joe!" 

There   was   no   answer. 

"Will    Conroy!" 

"  You  wait  here  while    I  run   up ;   I'm 
afraid  "to   let  you   on  these   stairs." 

He  sprang  away  as  he  spoke,  and 
Rosy  was  left  alone  in  that  dreary 
place,  with  the  open  trap-door  on  one 
side,  and  on  the  other  all  the  grim 
shadows  which  she  had  seen,  as  the 
nickering  light  of  the  match  fell  around 
her  for  a  moment ;  while  the  rats  rushed 
about  in  every  direction  quite  undis- 
mayed by  her  presence.  She  tried  hard 
to  be  brave,  and  began  to  sing  a  hymn 
to  keep  up  her  courage;  but  her  voice 
trembled  so  that  she  could  scarcely  pro- 
nounce the  words,  and  when  a  rat  sud- 


JOE  TURNER'S.  113 


denly  ran  across  the  floor  behind  her, 
with  a  sharp  squeal,  she  could  bear  it 
no  longer,  and  a  cry  of  terror,  took  the 
place  of  the  last  note  of  her  tremulous 
hymn.  Ned  was  beside  her  in  a  mo- 
ment. 

"  What's  the  matter  ? "  he  asked  anx- 
iously. "  Did  somebody  scare  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  the  rats,  and  the  big  hole  in 
the  floor,  and,  and  —  oh,  I'm  sorry  Ned, 
but  I  was  so  frightened.  I  did  try  not 
to  scream,"  sobbed  Rosy. 

"  Poor  little  thing !  It's  such  a  lone- 
some place,"  said  Ned,  kindly.  "  Let's 
go  out." 

"But  Will?"  said  Rosy,  trying  to 
speak  very  steadily,  but  failing  entirely 
in  the  effort. 

"  Oh,  you'll  have  to  give  it  up,  Rosy 


114         ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


He's  off  to  John  Hall's,  away  up  to 
Fifty -seventh  Street.  I  found  one  of  the 
fellows  upstairs,  asleep.  I  woke  him  up, 
and  he  says  that  Will  has  gone  there 
for  the  night." 

"But,   Ned,   isn't  it  a   bad  place?" 

"  I  should  think  it  was." 

"  Let's  go  coax  him  out,  Ned." 

The  boy  looked  at  her  in  amazed  si- 
lence. "  Why  child  it's  a'most  out  to 
Central  Park,"  he  said  at  length. 

"  I  know  it.  Can't  you  walk  so 
far?" 

"  Yes,   I  can,  but  you   can't." 

"  Yes,  I   can  ;  try  me,  Ned." 

"  But  I  tell  you  you  couldn't  do  it,' 
Rosy." 

"  And  I  tell  you  I  will  do  it,"  said 
the  child,  resolutely.  "  I  can  walk  a 


JOE  TURNER'S.  115 


great  deal.  I'll  be  real  good  if  you'll 
take  me,  Ned.  I  wont  get  frightened 
again.  Not  if  I  can  help  it,''  she  added, 
a  .little  afraid  of  being  put  to  the  test. 

He  looked  down  at  the  eager,  up- 
raised face,  and  could  scarcely  resist  its 
pleading,  but  he  did  not  think  it  pos- 
sible for  her  to  accomplish  the  task 
after  having  walked  so  far  already. 

"  I'm  afraid  Mother  Conroy  would  be 
mad  at  me  if  I  took  you  so  far,  Rosy," 
said  he. 

"  No,  she  wouldn't.  You  don't  know 
how  worried  she  is  for  Will.  She'll 
break  her  heart  if  I  go  home  and  tell 
her  I  left  him  in  that  place.  Come, 
please  come." 

She  took  his  hand  in  both  her  own, 
trying  to  drag  him'  on  with  her,  and 
Ned  yielded. 


IX. 

lost 

^  S  they  walked  on,  Ned  drew  away 
his  hand  from  the  close  grasp  in 
s|p  which  Rosy  held  it,  and  thrusting 
it  into  his  pocket  brought  out  some 
pennies.  An  examination  into  the  other 
pockets  produced  some  more.  He 
counted  them  over,  seven  in  all.  He 
counted  again,  felt  in  his  pockets  again, 
but  no  searching  or  counting  increased 
the  store ;  seven  cents  was  his  whole 
capital.  Soon  they  reached  a  street 
through  which  a  line  of  cars  passed, 
and  Ned  hailed  one. 

(117) 


118         ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ?  "  asked 
Rosy,  in  surprise. 

"  Ride,"  was  the  leply. 

"  But  how   shall  we   pay  ? " 

He  was  lifting  her  on  the  platform 
as  she  spoke.  The  conductor  heard  her. 
He  looked  suspiciously  at  Ned,  and,  fol- 
lowing him  into  the  car,  asked  him  for 
his  fare  almost  before  he  had  taken  his 
seat. 

"  Will  you  let  us  ride  for  seven  cents," 
asked  the  boy,  holding  out  his  pennies. 
"  I  aint  got  no  more,  and  the  little 
girl  is  nigh  done  up." 

"  Where  are  you  going  ? "  asked  the 
conductor. 

"  To  Fifty-seventh  Street.  I  know  it's 
pretty  much  of  an  ask,  but  she  looks 
so  mighty  tired." 


THE   LOST   BROTHER.  119 


The  man  thought  she  did  look  "  mighty 
tired "  as  he  glanced  at  the  pale,  weary 
little  face.  "  Does  she  live  up  there  ? " 
he  asked. 

"  No.  She's  goin'  up  to  fetch  her 
brother.  He  is  in  a  place  there  where 
he's  no  business  to  be,  and  she  wants 
to  get  him  home.  She  lives  in  Woos- 
ter  Street" 

The  conductor  was  on  the  point  of 
taking  the  money,  when  Rosy  said, 
"  Fve  got  one  penny,  Ned.  Mother  gave 
it  to  me  last  night,"  and  she  drew  it 
out  of  her  pocket.  "  Only  I  meant  to 
put  it  into  the  missionary-box  at  Sun- 
day school.  They  didn't  bring  the  box 
round  to-day,  but  oughtn't  I  to  keep 
it  for  next  Sunday  ?  " 

"Do  you  think  you  ought?"  asked 
the  conductor  with  a  smile. 


120         ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  Why,  yes,  I  think  so.  If  I  meant 
it  for  them,  it's  theirs  just  the  same 
as  if  I  gave  it,  isn't  it  ?  Perhaps 
not,"  she  added,  rather  undecided  as  to 
whom  the  money  was  due.  "  If  it  is 
right  for  me  to  give  it  to  you,  you 
may  take  it;  only  I  didn't  want  to 
take  it  from  the  missionaries  when 
they're  so  kind  and  good,  to  go  away 
from  their  nice  homes  to  teach  the  poor 
heathen." 

"  Keep  your  money,  little  one,"  said 
he,  "  the  missionaries  may  have  it,"  and 
with  a  relieved  rnind,  Rosy  tucked  her 
penny  safely  away  in  the  depths  of  her 
pocket. 

Pretty  soon  she  began  to  jolt  about 
in  a  very  unsteady  way,  on  her  seat; 
her  head  came  nodding  forward  with  a 


THE  LOST  BROTHER.  121 


jerk  at  every  motion  of  the  car,  and  at 
last  she  sank  back  against  Ned  quite 
unable  to  hold  herself  up  any  longer. 
The  boy  put  his  arm  around  her,  and 
drew  her  to  him  letting  her  head  rest 
comfortably  upon  his  lap,  and  the  tired 
child  slept  quietly  until  they  reached 
their  journey's  end. 

As  Ned  took  her  hand  to  lead  her 
from  the  car,  after  waking  her  from  her 
slumber,  a  gentleman  who  sat  beside 
him  touched  his  arm.  "  How  do  you 
mean  to  get  that  little  girl  home 
again  ? "  said  he.  "  She  is  tired  out. 
She  can  never  walk  down  to  Wooster 
Street." 

"  If  she  can't,  then  me  and  her 
brother  must  carry  her,  between  us,'' 
said  Ned. 


122  EOSY   CONROY'S   LESSONS. 


"  Take  this,''  and  the  gentleman  put 
twenty-five  cents  into  his  hand ;  "  that 
will  ride  you  all." 

"  Thank  you  hearty,  Mister,"  said  the 
boy. 

Rosy  turned  back  with  a  smiling 
face  to  speak  her  gratitude,  and  as  she 
left  the  car  he  heard  her  say,  "  Isn't 
that  a  good  man  ?  And  he's  real 
pretty." 

Ned  laughed,  and  the  gentleman 
smiled  too ;  but  he  knew  that  the  simple 
words  came  from  the  pure  depths  of 
her  grateful  little  heart. 

"  Oh,  Ned,  is  that  where  we've  got 
to  go  ?  "  asked  Rosy,  looking  up  fear- 
fully at  the  wooden  huts  built  on  the 
top  of  the  rocks,  that  rose  abruptly 
from  the  street  on  which  they  stood. 


THE   LOST  BROTHER.  123 


The  early  moon  shone  down  bright- 
ly on  the  miserable  hovels,  bringing  all 
their  squalor  and  wretchedness  to  view 
with  almost  the  clearness  of  daylight. 
Rosy  shuddered  as  she  glanced  up,  and 
thought  that  her  brother  was  probably 
in  one  of  those  dens,  and  she  should 
perhaps  have  to  enter  it  to  bring  him  out. 

"  How  do  you  get  there,  Ned  ?  We 
couldn't  climb  those  rocks." 

He  led  her  around  the  corner  to  a  flight 
of  stairs,  as  crazy,  and  dangerous  to  mount 
as  those  at  "  Joe  Turner's ;  "  but  the  rock 
sloped  considerably  on  this  side,  and,  aid- 
ing Rosy  to  step  on  it,  Ned  went  up  by 
the  stairs,  and  holding  her  hand  firmly  in 
his,  let  her  walk  up  the  slope. 

"  There's  Hall's, "  he  said,  pointing  to 
one  of  the  hovels ;  "  but  I  don't  want  to 


124  KOSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


take  you  in,  Rosy.  Let  me  see  first  if  I 
can't  call  him  out." 

"  Don't  leave  me  alone  here,  Ned." 

"  No,  come  with  me  to  the  door.  Stand 
there  by  the  corner,  out  of  sight,  while  I 
call  him." 

He  gave  a  low,  peculiar  whistle,  which 
was  answered  from  the  inside,  and  the 
door  was  slightly  opened. 

"  Is  that  you,  Ned  ? "  said  a  voice. 
«  Come  in." 

"  No,  I  can't  to-nighf.  Is  Will  Conroy 
there  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Tell  him  I  want  to  speak  with  him." 

The  door  was  closed  for  a  moment, 
then  opened  again,  and  Will  came  out. 

"  Whistle  when  you  want  to  come 
back,"  said  a  voice  from  within,  and  the 
door  was  shut  once  more. 


THE  LOST   BROTHER,  125 


"What  do  you  want?"  asked  Will, 
roughly. 

"  We  want  you  to  come  home.     Rosy ! " 

She  crept  around  from  her  hiding-place 
and  came  close  to  Will. 

"  We've  come  to  fetch  you  home,  Will 
dear.  Please  come." 

For  a  moment  he  looked  at  her  too 
much  surprised  to  speak.  "  How  did  you 
ever  get  to  this  place  ?  "  he  said,  at  last. 

"  Ned  brought  me.  He's  been  so  good, 
Will,  you  don't  know.  He  took  me  over 
to  Turner's  to  look  for  you,  and  then 
brought  me  here.  He  paid  his  own  money 
for  the  riding,  too." 

Ned  had  slowly  led  the  way  down  to- 
ward the  street,  and  the  others  had 
followed.  He  had  reached  the  broken 
stairs,  and  paused  now  to  turn  and  say, 


126         ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  She  meant  to  walk  all  the  way  up 
here,  the  brave  little  lass;  but  the  con- 
ductor gave  us  the  ride  for  what  I  had. 
If  I  hadn't  owned  a  few  cents,  she'd  have 
walked  it,  after  trotting  over  to  the  river, 
all  for  the  sake  of  getting  you  home." 

"  I  can't  go  home,"  said  Will,  sullenly. 

"  Why  not,  Willie  ?  "  asked  Rosy. 

"'Cause  the  old  man's  angry  at  me. 
He  wont  let  me  in." 

"  Yes  he  will ;  and  poor  mother  feels 
so  bad  to  have  you  out.  She  says 
she'll  go  distracted  if  you  stay  from  her 
to-night.  And  I  want  you,  too.  Do  come, 
Will,  when  I've  come  so  far  to  fetch 
you." 

"  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  your- 
self," exclaimed  Ned,  angrily,  "to  fight 
off  in  that  fashion  when  the  child's 


THE   LOST   BROTHER.  127 


wore  herself  off  her  feet  searching  for 
you!" 

"  Don't,  Ned,  don't  speak  cross  to  him. 
He'll  go  with  me,  I  know.  He's  only 
tired  and  cold.  Come,  Willie.  A  gentle- 
man gave  us  money  to  ride;  we'll  all  go 
together." 

They  had  reached  the  street,  Ned  guid- 
ing Rosy  down  as  he  had  led  her  up, 
being  afraid  to  trust  her  on  the  stairs. 
She  already  held  his  hand  in  hers,  and 
now  she  slipped  her  fingers  into  Will's 
palm,  and  turned  toward  the  Avenue. 

"  Come  let's  go  home." 

The  boys  both  yielded  to  the  impulse 
she  gave  them,  and  walked  on  beside  her 
until  they  reached  the  railroad.  But 
when  Ned  would  have  lifted  her  into 
the  car,  Will  put  him  back  and  lifted  her 


BOSY  CONBOY'S  LESSONS. 


himself.  The  car  was  fall,  but  room 
being  made  for  one,  Ned  motioned  Will 
to  the  seat,  and  he  took  it,  placing  Rosy 
on  his  knee, 

"  Bend  down  your  head,  Will,"  she 
said  softly,  cuddling  up  close  to  him. 

He  bent  his  head,  and  she  put  her 
arm  around  his  neck  as  she  whispered, 
"I'm  so  real  glad  to  have  you  home." 

a  Are  you,  Rosy  1 "  he  asked,  in  the 
same  low  tone,  looking  doubtfully  at  her. 

"  Yes,  indeed  I  am." 

"What  makes  you  glad  to  have  me?" 

"  Because  mother's  eyes  wont  look  so 
sorry.  And  because  —  because  "  — 

«  Well,  why?  " 

"Because,"  and  the  little  girl's  voice 
dropped  so  low  that  he  could  scarcely 
catch  the  words,  tt  I  think  that  the  angels 


THE   LOST  BROTHER.  129 


in  heaven  will  see  a  light  in  Jesus' 
eyes,  too." 

"  "What  made  you  come  after  me " 
said  Will,  after  a  parse,  "  when  I  was 
so  ugly  to  you?" 

"  Oh,  we  wont  think  about  that  any 
more,"  said  Rosy.  "  Ned  told  me  you 
thought  father  wouldn't  let  you  come  home, 
so  I  said  I'd  come  and  bring  you." 

"  You're  better  off  without  me,"  said 
the  boy,  gloomily. 

"  No,  we  aint  Now,  Will,  let's  begin 
all  new.  Let's  do  like  Jesus  wants  to 
have  us.  You  were  right  when  you  said 
that  I  didn't  behave  as  if  I  loved  him ;  but 
I'm  very  sorry,  and  Fm  going  to  try  to 
be  his  own  dear  child  now.  Will  you  try 
too,  Willie?" 

He  did    not   answer    her,    but  for    the 

9 


130  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


first  time  in  years  he  kissed  the  face 
which  lay  upon  his  breast.  The  color 
rushed  in  a  quick  tide  over  cheek  and 
brow  at  the  warm  touch  of  those  almost 
stranger  lips,  and  for  very  gladness  she 
could  not  speak  even  in  the  whispered 
tones  in  which  their  conversation  had 
been  carried  on. 

"  Ned,"  said  Rosy,  as  they  parted  at 
the  house  door,  the  boy  refusing  to  go  in 
to  eat  his  supper  with  them,  "  if  there's 
ever  anything  I  can  do  for  you,  will  you 
let  me  do  it?  Not  that  I  don't  like  to 
think  that  you've  done  so  much  for  me," 
she  added,  with  ready  tact,  "but  I'd  be 
so  glad  to  show  you  how  much  I  thank 
you." 

He  drew  her  away  from  Will,  and  bend- 
ing close  to  her,  said,  "  Ask  God  to 
make  me  as  sweet  and  good  as  you." 


THE   LOST  BROTHER.  131 

"  No,  no,"  she  said,  moving  back  with 
a  startled  look.  "  I'm  not  good  at  all. 
But  Ned,  I'll  ask  him  to  make  you 
dear  and  good  like  the  Lord  Jesus. 
That's  what  I'll  ask  him.  Good-night, 
you  nice,  kind  Ned." 

"  Good-night,"  and  the  boy  mounted 
the  stairs  to  his  lonely  attic  room.  But 
he  was  not  desolate  that  night,  for  though 
his  limbs  ached  with  weariness  his  heart 
was  light  and  joyous,  and  the  poor,  un- 
furnished room  seemed  filled  with  the 
music  of  angel  voices  whispering  words 
of  love  and  blessing  to  him  who  had 
"done  what  he  could." 

"Now  come,  WiUie}"  said  Rosy,  lead- 
ing the  way  toward  their  room. 

"  No,  I  can't  come.  I  dare  not  face 
father,"  said  he,  hanging  his  head. 


132          ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


But  at  that  moment  Mrs.  Conroy,  who 
had  been  anxiously  listening  for  every 
sound,  opened  the  door  and  looked  out 

"  Rosy  dear,  is  that  yourself? " 

"  Yes,  mother,  and  Will.  Bid  him 
come  in.  He's  afraid  father'll  be  hard 
on  him  ;  but  he  wont,  will  he  ? " 

"  No,  indeed.  Come  in  then,  boy,  and 
tell  him  how  sorry  you  are.  And  put 
past  all  your  evil  ways,  and  be  a  good 
son  to  us.  Sure  and  the  little  sister 
has  had  a  hard  hunt  for  you,  so  she  has." 

"  I  didn't  mind,"  said  Rosy,  as  she 
came  in,  still  holding  Will  by  the  hand. 

And  when  her  father  told  her  to  come 
to  him,  and,  lifting  her  on  his  knee,  let 
her  lay  her  head  upon  his  breast  while 
he  told  her  that  she  was  his  comfort 
and  his  great  delight,  ehe  rested  there 


THE   LOST   BROTHER.  133 


so  peacefully,  folded  in  his  loving  arms, 
that  she  forgot  all  her  trouble  and  fatigue 
in  the  glad  thought  that  she  had  cheered 
her  dear  father  and  mother,  and  had 
pleased  her  precious  Saviour. 


X. 


£Jj*  HERE'S  a  knock  at  the  door,  Rosy  ; 

\Ls  run  and  see  who  it  is." 

y5x  M*8'  Conroy  was  standing  before  a 
washtub  busily  employed;  for  the  week's 
wash  had  fallen  behindhand,  and  the 
children's  clothes  needed  to  be  made  clean 
for  the  Sabbath.  Rosy,  who  was  sitting 
on  the  floor,  with  both  the  babies  on  her 
lap  and  little  Rob  close  beside  her,  had 
some  difficulty  in  obeying  her  mother's  com- 
mand; but  when  the  twins  were  safely  laid 
in  the  cradle,  and  Rob  had  scrambled  up 
to  follow  her,  as  usual,  she  opened  the 
door.  There  stood  Miss  Raymond. 

(135) 


136          ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  Why,  Rosy,"  said  she,  « I  did  not 
expect  to  find  you  here  this  morning.  I 
supposed  that  the  little  merchant  would 
be  out  with  her  basket." 

"  No,  ma'am,''  said  Mrs.  Conroy,  wring- 
ing the  suds  from  her  hands  and  coming 
forward  to  welcome  her  visitor.  "  I  was 
forced  to  keep  her  home  the  day  to  see  to 
the  little  ones,  while  I  washed  up  the  bits 
of  clothes  against  the  Sunday.  You  see 
the  father  he's  no  good  just  now,  and  so  I 
had  to  keep  her  in.  She  didn't  need  to  go 
so  much  this  week,  for  my  boy's  at  work." 

Miss  Raymond  looked  at  Rosy,  who, 
having  given  her  a  chair,  now  stood  beside 
her,  holding  her  hand.  The  little  girl  did 
not  speak,  but  she  pressed  close  to  her 
side,  and  looked  up  into  her  face  with  eyes 
which  told  her  all  she  wanted  to  know. 


ROSY'S   REWARD.  137 


"  And  how  is  your  foot  doing?  "  asked 
the  lady,  turning  to  Mr.  Conroy,  who  sat 
near  her. 

"  It's  doing  finely,  ma'am,  thank  you. 
I'm  thinking  I'll  be  about  again  by  next 
week.  It's  not  been  so  bad  as  we  feared 
at  the  first  Things  look  brighter  for  us 
than  they  did.  The  boy  has  been  steady 
at  his  work  all  the  week,  and  if  he'll  only 
keep  on  till  Saturday  night,  he'll  make 
enough  to  pay  the  rent ;  and  then  we'll 
manage  to  fight  along  till  I  get  out  again." 

"  Do  you  suppose  that  he  will  continue 
to  work,  so  that  Rosy  can  go  to  school  ?  " 

"  I'm  sure  I  couldn't  say,  ma'am. 
There's  no  telling  at  all  what  he'll  do.  He 
seems  to  have  taken  a  good  turn  now,  but 
we  don't  know  how  long  it  will  last.  I 
wouldn't  like  to  have  her  begin,  and  then 
take  her  away  again  after  a  few  days." 


138  ROSY   CONROY'S    LESSONS. 


"  No,  that  would  not  be  best,"  said  Miss 
Raymond,  "  but  I  have  been  thinking  of 
another  plan.  If  Rosy  could  be  spared 
from  home  for  two  hours  every  morning, 
she  might  come  up  to  my  house  and  J 
would  teach  her.  Could  she  do  that  ?  " 

"  O  mother,  please !  "  exclaimed  Rosy, 
springing  forward  with  her  face  all  aglow 
with  delight. 

But  the  next  moment  she  drew  back. 
Who  was  to  lead  her  blind  father  ? 

"  Look  at  the  eyes  of  her,"  said  the 
mother,  smiling,  as  Rosy  stood  waiting 
for  the  answer ;  quietly,  but  with  her  eyes 
fixed  eagerly  on  her.  "  Sure,  Miss  Ray- 
mond, we  don't  know  how  to  thank  you, 
ma'am,  but  I  can't  tell  how  we'd  do  with 
the  father." 

"  Couldn't    I "  —  Rosy     paused     again, 


ROSY'S   REWARD.  139 


afraid  of  saying  too  much  and  appearing 
selfish. 

u  Couldn't  you  do  what,  Rosy  ?  M  asked 
Miss  Raymond. 

"  Perhaps  it  wouldn't  do,  ma'am ;  but 
I  thought  maybe  I  could  take  father  with 
me  in  the  morning,  and  leave  him  on  a 
good  corner  while  I  go  to  you ;  and  then 
go  back  for  him,  and  lead  him  where  he 
wants  to  go.  And  I  could  study  in  the 
evenings,  or  while  I  stand  in  the  street  by- 
father.  I  am  sure  I  could  do  that,"  she 
added,  her  earnestness  overcoming  her 
timidity. 

"  I  am  sure  you  could,  too,''  said  Miss 
Raymond ;  "  if  your  parents  will  consent" 

"  There's  no  question  of  consent,  ma'am," 
said  the  father.  "  We're  only  too  glad,  and 
thankful  for  your  kindness.  The  good 


140  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


Lord  will  remember  and  reward  you, 
Miss  Raymond." 

"  He  has  already  given  me  all  the  re- 
ward," she  said,  patting  Rosy's  flushed 
cheek.  "  I  would  do  much  more  than  that 
to  bring  such  a  glow  into  a  child's  face ; 
especially  when  I  know  that  the  child  has 
been  trying,  with  what  strength  she  has,  to 
lighten  other  hearts.  Isn't  that  so,  Rosy  ?  " 

"  Indeed  it  is,  ma'am,"  said  Mrs.  Conroy, 
as  Rosy  only  smiled  in  answer  to  the 
question,  "  'twas  she  that  found  Will  on 
the  Sunday  night,  and  a  long,  long  search 
she  had  for  him  before  she  brought  him 
home  here.  And  she's  just  been  that  kind 
and  tender  to  him,  ever  since  that  I  think 
the  boy's  fairly  shamed  into  doing  his 
best  I  begin  to  have  a  great  hope  of  him 
now,  and  all  through  her.  It's  her  own 


HOST'S   REWARD.  141 


doing,  every  bit  of  it,  for  I  never  urged  her 
to  go  for  him." 

"  I  am  so  glad,"  said  the  lady,  in  a  tone 
which  told  how  truly  glad  she  was,  and 
which  echoed  all  through  Rosy's  joyous 
heart. 

Miss  Raymond  sat  for  some  time  longer 
talking  with  them,  and  then  rose  to  leave, 
taking  with  her  a  hearty  blessing,  partially 
expressed  in  words,  but  a  large  portion  of 
which  was  laid  away  in  the  depths  of  those 
warm  hearts,  which,  during  all  the  years 
of  their  lives  should  follow  her  with  their 
earnest  prayer  and  grateful  love. 

"  Put  on  your  shawl  and  hood,  and 
come  down  to  the  street  with  me,  Rosy," 
she  said,  as  she  opened  the  door. 

The  hood  was  donned  in  a  twinkling, 
and  passing  out  of  the  house  together,  they 
went  clown  the  alley  to  the  street. 


142  ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 

"  I  wish  you  needn't  go  yet,  Miss  Ray- 
mond," said  Rosy.  "  I  do  so  like  to  have 
you  come  to  see  us." 

"  I  must  go  now,  dear,"  she  said,  paus- 
ing at  the  entrance  to  the  court.  "  You 
may  corne  up  to-morrow  morning,  and  we 
will  make  all  the  arrangements  about 
your  lessons  so  that  you  can  begin  with 
them  on  Monday.  You  must  be  there 
punctually  at  nine  o'clock.  You  wont 
forget  that,  will  you  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  Miss  Raymond.  You  don't 
think  I'll  keep  you  waiting  when  you're 
so  good  as  to  teach  me.  I'll  be  there  in 
good  time,  and  I'll  study  just  as  hard  as 
I  know  how." 

"  I  shall  not  make  you  work  so  very 
hard,"  said  Miss  Raymond,  smiling  at  her 

"  I  am  so   happy,"  she   added,   bending 


ROSY'S  REWARD  143 


her  head,  and  speaking  in  a  lower  tone, 
"  that  you  have  begun  so  well.  My  brave 
little  soldier  means  to  fight  her  battle 
through,  I  am  sure.  But  she  must  remem- 
ber that  all  her  strength  must  come  from 
her  Captain.  She  has  been  very  ready  to 
buckle  the  armor  on,  and  now  she  must 
see  that  it  is  kept  bright.  You  have  made 
me  very,  very  glad." 

"  And  I  am  so  glad,  you  don't  know," 
said  Rosy,  clinging  to  her.  "  But,  Miss 
Raymond,  you  said  last  Sunday  that  the 
time  for  resting  in  the  sweet,  sunny  spot 
was  after  the  fight  was  fought ;  and  some- 
how I  seem  to  be  in  it  all  the  time.  The 
battle  isn't  over,  I  know ;  it's  a  little  hard 
yet  to  be  real  good  to  him  when  he  comes 
home  pretty  cross ;  but  it  isn't  wrong  to 
feel  like  singing  and  being  very  happy  all 
day,  —  is  it,  Miss  Raymond?  " 


144          ROSY  CONROY'S  LESSONS. 


"  No,  darling.  God  wants  his  little 
child  to  be  joyous  and  gay.  You  need 
never  be  afraid  of  being  too  glad,  for  he 
loves  to  see  you  so.  Good-by." 

«  Good-by." 

"  Oh,  but  aint  she  a  sweet  one ! "  said 
the  child  to  herself  as  she  stood  gazing 
after  Miss  Raymond's  retreating  figure, 
unwilling  to  lose  even  the  last  glimpse. 
"  She's  the  dearest  and  best  that  is.  Ex- 
cept the  dear  God  who  gave  her  to  me," 
she  added,  folding  her  little  hands  and 
looking  reverently  up  into  the  blue  sky. 


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